The Fox's Shadow
by ICHeart
Summary: Naruto gets access to the power of the VOID and gets serious after the Land of Waves. Now behold as Naruto grows into the ninja he should've been the whole time! No Harem! I do not own Naruto.
1. A New Start

Here is my new Naruto story! Now I will be finishing The Forsaken Fox, but I have realized that my interest in genres come in cycles so I'll probably get half way through this before I finish the Forsaken Fox. Now this story will be featuring a stronger Naruto who decided to start training harder than ever after the Bell Test. It starts right after the wave mission where he is reflecting on his thoughts about Haku and Zabuza and how he still wasn't good enough to save them. This will be closet to Canon of any story, but not to close.

Naruto lay on the bed in Tazuna's just looking at the ceiling. Despite all the extra training he did thanks to asking all the jounin sensei for tips, he couldn't save Haku or Zabuza.

He used weights to increase his speed and stamina, woke up at 5 in the morning to warm-up before meeting with his team, doing chakra exercises life leaf sticking and tree walking, and last a couple of low rank jutsu.

He needed to work on his taijutsu, working with his clones, and maybe learn a few offensive jutsu. Kakashi is known for mastering over 1000 jutsu…he must have at least one or two jutsu that would be able to work with his fighting style?

The Bell Test was the first time he ever actually felt how truly weak he was. He threw everything he could at him, but it wasn't enough. Kakashi made him feel week and defenseless, and he never wanted to feel that way again.

He knew he was stronger, but no matter how strong he got there would always be someone stronger than him. That's why he would train harder than before, harder than anyone else his age, and he wouldn't stop training. But first he needed help from his sensei.

Naruto quickly got up and walked out the building to find Kakashi. It didn't take long as he was standing along a tree reading that book of his.

"Kakashi-sensei?" started Naruto hesitantly.

"What is it that you want Naruto?" he asked boredly.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm not strong enough…I need to get stronger." Naruto said sadly.

"Well Naruto have you been training hard?" Kakashi asked.

"Not hard enough…I can't protect anyone at the level I am at! I need to increase my Taijutsu, Ninjustu, control, and everything else! I need more help if I want to get strong enough to protect all of my precious people." Said Naruto desperately.

"So you think I can show you how to do all of that? You want me to show you how to be a strong ninja?" asked Kakashi.

"No…I want guidance, I can only learn how to be a ninja on my own! Give me the tools and I will make you proud Sensei. Give me a chance to get stronger and I will!" declared Naruto at the end.

"Very well if you are serious about it then there are a few things I can give you to help you with." Said Kakashi as he pulled out two scrolls and a small piece of paper.

"What are they for Kakashi-Sensei?" asked Naruto.

"The first scroll is a Taijutsu scroll that I found years ago. It is style that focuses on unpredictable attacks and unorthodox strategies. You see the style is extremely hard to master for most ninja, due to most people being able to follow set paths. While someone like you who is naturally unpredictable this style will suit you well." Explained Kakashi.

"So by being myself this style will help me fight. Now will I be able to use it with my clones? They are my best means to fight at the moment after all." Asked Naruto.

"That is why I believe this taijutsu will suit you perfectly. This taijutsu never will remain the same as you incorporate anything you learn into it. The basics are the only things that are constant as the advanced moves are made to be incorporated to the techniques of the one who uses it." Explained Kakashi as he handed Naruto the scroll.

"So I can constantly develop my technique and it will never stay the same. This will be perfect, I can incorporate my clones into it and any other jutsu I learn." Said Naruto as he looked at the scroll in his arms.

"Now the second scroll is a few chakra control, speed, and strength exercises that you will have to do. The chakra control exercises must be completed before I allow you to move on your training." Said Kakashi.

"What is the last paper for sensei?" asked Naruto.

"This is chakra paper…by channeling your chakra into it we can determine your nature affinity." Said Kakashi as he handed Naruto the paper.

"Here it goes." Stated Naruto as he channeled his chakra into it. His paper then split down the middle as he let it fall to the ground. As it fell it started to shred into thousands of pieces making Kakashi's eyes widen. However he quickly schooled his features.

"So what nature affinity am I sensei?" asked Naruto.

"What nature affinity do you think you are Naruto?" asked Kakashi right back.

"Well considering on the fact that you say I'm unpredictable by nature and the chakra is used to cut things? It can't be fire as that would probably burn the paper, or water as that would probably have to do with something getting wet. Earth is the most predictable and is steadfast so I'm not earth. So it is either wind or lightning?" asked Naruto.

"So what element are you?" asked Kakashi.

"If I had to make a guess I would say that I am wind. It is unpredictable and strong, but can be focused at certain points when it needs to be." Said Naruto as Kakashi gave him an eye smile.

"That is a very good deduction Naruto. It seems that you are ready to finally take this seriously." Stated Naruto.

"Haku's death affected me more than you think Sensei. I now know that I've been living in a dream ever since I was a child. I thought that if I increased training after the Bell test I would be able to be the best, but now I know that I will need to dedicate as much time as I can to training." Said Naruto in a low voice.

"You don't have to spend every hour of every day training. Despite being a ninja and legally an adult all people must have time to relax and act their age. Finish the chakra control exercises by the end of the week and when we get back I will get Asuma to start the first parts of your elemental training." Said Kakashi as Naruto smiled brightly at him.

"Thanks Kakashi-Sensei…you are one of the few in the village to treat me like a human. That means a lot to me." Smiled Naruto.

"Naruto you hold a burden that many couldn't bear by themselves. The 4th Hokage entrusted the power of the greatest demon in the world to you. You are his legacy and I'm proud to see you taking this role seriously now." Stated Kakashi, and like a dam bursting Naruto finally understood his role in the village.

He had the power to control the greatest amount chakra that world had ever seen. If he could master it then he would be unstoppable. The Fourth trusted him and he would not let him down no matter what.

"I will make him proud Sensei! He trusted me with the protection of the village and if I must I will protect the village with everything I have!" Naruto declared. "You say I will master the exercises in a week, I'll do it in three days!"

Kakashi watched as he saw Naruto ran into the tree line with a determined look on his face. This was the first time he had actually been truly proud of anyone on his team.

Sasuke had changed little and was just as preoccupied with getting power. He was selfish and angered easily; he didn't work with the others. Kakashi thought he was a replica of him at first, but Sasuke was leagues more volatile than what he was as a kid.

Then there was Sakura…He wasn't even sure if she should continue being a kuinoichi. She was the only one not injured on the mission, only cause she didn't do any of the fighting. Not once did she come up to him asking for help or to get her stronger. All she has done since the fight was look after the still unconscious Sasuke.

Then there was Naruto who had by far had the most growth in the entire team. After the Bell Test he saw that Naruto would practice on his own time. There was a huge improvement in the orange clad ninja. His speed was close to Sasuke's level and it had only been a month, his strength was greater than Sasuke's.

Kakashi noticed that Naruto had chakra weights on him for the past month and a half now. Those types of weights were made to increase whenever the body would get use to them. If that so then with his healing ability they could be doubling in weight every week.

Give him two months and he would be at chuunin level and at the way he is developing mentally he might be ready for the exams. Together the three might make it past the first two parts, but only Naruto would have the potential to make chuunin.

'Sensei would be proud of his boy.' Thought Kakashi as he looked back at his book and giggled perversely.

Naruto quickly got to clearing next to a large pond in the forest and looked at the chakra control exercises. The first was to do water walking, which Naruto had seen Kakashi do in his first battle with Zabuza.

"Now to begin training…it says that I have to keep a constant flow to stay above the water." Said Naruto as he walked to the pond and started releasing chakra from his feet as he stepped on it.

'Feels solid enough.' But as he took a second step he sunk into the shallow water. 'Nevermind this might take some time.' So with renewed effort he began to water walk.

That night he slowly walked back to Tazuna's house to get some food and to sleep. He had practiced water walking for 5 hours before switching to look at the taijutsu scroll.

He did a few basic kata's and started to use his clones with those few basics. It was then that he learned a nifty trick with the shadow clones.

It was during the katas that he threw one of his clones over the lake. The clone flipped and landed on the lake and was even able to stay on the water for an entire minute before it popped.

Naruto quickly felt everything the clone had felt as he had been concentrating on what the clone had done to stay on the water that long. Afterwards he could stand on water for an entire three minutes before losing control.

That was when he decided to come back to Tazuna's before testing his new theory tomorrow. He walked in and was greeted by the smiling faces of Tazuna, Tsunami, Inari, and at least he thought Kakashi was smiling.

Sakura herself looked like she was ready to explode.

"Where the hell were you Naruto!" She yelled as she ran up and punched him in the head before he could react in his exhausted state of mind.

'Why the hell does she always have to punch me? I'm tired of that bitch! Wait Sakura isn't a bitch? Is she? Do I even like her anymore?' asked Naruto to himself as he slowly stood up.

He glared at Sakura for a second releasing a small amount of killing intent. This made her look at Naruto in surprise. He had never glared at her before or even released a small amount of anger to her.

As quickly as it came it was gone and Naruto sat down and started eating after Tsunami put a plate down for him.

He stood up thanked Tsunami for the meal and went to bed after saying night to everyone else.

The next morning Naruto was in the same clearing as before doing the tree climbing exercise, while carrying a boulder with clones throwing blunted kunai at him.

He reasoned that it would help his control, strength, speed, reserves, and accuracy. There were also 10 clones doing the water walking exercise while trying not to sink.

After an hour of doing this he finally slipped out of the tree and decided to take a break. He decided to walk around a bit before finding a hidden cave.

Summoning a few clones to check it out, in case of traps, he stood outside waiting. He could feel how a few clones had feel for traps, and when they were all cleared he entered.

Inside found an armory of some of the strangest weapons he had ever seen. He could tell by the metal that they weren't steel or iron.

They all had seals on them from what he could tell, but for some reason none of them seemed like he should use. He came close to a pair of trench knives on the wall that seemed to be calling to him.

The blades were pure black and curved inward making it look like a crescent moon with the blade being on the inner part of the blade. The handles had guards on them with small spikes where the knuckles would be. (.com/oleksande_orebchuk_bogdanovich_snow_leopard_knife_) But with more of a crescent shape, black blade, and hand guards with spikes. A little longer too.

He grabbed and immediately he felt a burning on pain on his wrist. The pain brought him to his knees as he gripped his wrist in a vain way to stem the pain.

What felt like eons was just 3 minutes and he was sitting while looking at his wrist that now had a tattoo on it. It was the Kanji for Kazekage (Wind Shadow).

'What do the blades have to do with the leader of Suna?' thought Naruto as he looked up to where all the weapons were to see that they were all gone.

He crawled out of the cave and when he looked back there was nothing left. The rocks that surrounded the cave were gone, and its entrance had disappeared completely.

'What is going on here? Was I caught in a Genjutsu?' he asked before using a kai release.

With that he decided just to finish water walking for the day and just forget about all of that. But due to the tattoo on his wrist, he knew that what had happened was real and not just his imagination.

That night he got back even worse than the night before. He barely made it to bed and Kakashi was a little worried about him, so he went up to check on his student.

Inside he found Naruto holding his wrist studying what looked like a tattoo that said Kazekage. What was Naruto doing with a tattoo that said Kazekage on it.

"So mind explaining how you got that there Naruto?" said Kakashi surprising Naruto.

"I don't exactly know Sensei…I got it in a cave." Said Naruto.

"Where is this cave Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"It's gone…" he said softly.

"Mind explaining?" replied Kakashi.

So for the next few minutes he told Kakashi about the cave and him touching the blades. Then about how the weapons and the tunnel disappeared, but he still had the tattoo.

"It seems that the blades you touched was somehow sealed into you. I have no clue about the cave as I have never heard of something like that." Said Kakashi.

"Well what are we supposed to do about the knives in my arm?" asked Naruto.

"Why not try summoning them?" asked Kakashi.

"How do I do that Sensei? We didn't really go over seals that much in the academy." Stated Naruto.

"Just focus on flowing your chakra into the tattoo on your wrist." Stated Kakashi as Naruto concentrated for a little while before a poof occurred.

When the smoke cleared Naruto was holding two black crescent trench knives. The blades themselves looked like they were just made for the purpose of killing anything that got in their way.

"Well will you look at that? Here let me see one of them for a second Naruto." Said Kakashi.

Naruto handed him one of the blades and immediately black tendrils whipped out and wrapped themselves around Kakashi's wrist. Kakashi immediately felt his chakra draining and he was soon brought to his knees by the pain that he had just registered.

He was finally able to rip it off with help from Naruto and stood up panting and sweating from what the blades had done to him. They both looked at it and noticed that there was now a crimson red seal that wrapped around the blade.

"Well it seems that the blade will only let you use it Naruto, and it seems to be able to absorb chakra just by being in contact with another person. It may have a few other abilities, but you will have to figure them out on your own.

"Well I can spend the rest of the week on that as I finished water walking last night!" beamed Naruto as he was smiling at his twin knives.

Kakashi's eyes widened at the fact that Naruto had already learned a skill that took most over a week to learn in just two days. "That is truly impressive Naruto, but I will oversee your training for the next few days so that you don't hurt yourself. So you will only be able to do a little work using the blades." Said Kakashi.

"Why don't you just use a Shadow Clone sensei?" asked Naruto.

'So he learned the secret to the clones? He could easily be high chuunin level by the time of the exam. You would be proud of him sensei.' "That would work Naruto, but what do you know about your shadow clones?" he asked anyways.

"Well I found that what they learn I learn, so I can decrease my training time. While I can focus on more demanding physical exercises." Stated Naruto.

"That is correct…it is a trick we do not just tell anyone. You must learn it yourself to use this training technique. Sasuke woke up early today demanding answers about the fight. I just thought you would like to know that." Stated Kakashi as he went to the door.

"Well when will he be back into fighting state?" asked Naruto.

"Most likely by the end of the mission. Tomorrow I will leave a clone with you so that we can discover some things about those knives of yours." Said Kakashi as he left the room.

"Seeya Sensei." Said Naruto as he laid down and quickly went to sleep.

MEANWHILE AT THE LEGION OF DOOM!

That next morning Naruto was up quickly doing a morning workout regime that he had designed. Similar to one earlier, but without the boulder on his back. This time however the clones weren't holding back and were throwing as hard as they could.

He was told that morning to make sure he had a good workout before they would work on the blade. It was also early in the morning that he ran into Sasuke who had finally woken up and gotten out of bed.

"Hey Teme!" How are you feeling?" asked Naruto as he walked into breakfast that morning.

"Better…not that it matters to you Dobe." Said Sasuke.

"Well get better quickly! I need a sparing partner so that I can test a new style I've been trying to learn." Said Naruto.

"Hn…whatever style you learn won't help you in fight against me Dobe." Said Sasuke.

"Whatever Sasuke…I mean whatever helps you sleep at night." Replied Naruto smoothly. That's when Sakura decided to add her opinion.

"Shut up Baka! Sasuke could beat you in a fight with both his hands behind his back!" she yelled at him.

"Really? You would know this how Sakura? I mean you only know the academy taijutsu, three weak jutsu, and not a single genjutsu. I just want to know how you are an expert at this stuff?" asked Naruto. This had to effects, one it shut Sakura up and it got Sasuke wondering what had happened since he was knocked unconscious.

"Whatever I'm going to go train. I need to practice a bit with weapons before we head home." Said Naruto as he left.

Now he was trying to make it to the point that Kakashi had told him to meet at. There was just one problem and that was the forty clones chucking kunai, shuriken, or any other thing they could find at him.

He finally made it to the clearing and had the forty clones start water walking while he waited for his sensei.

It didn't take long as Kakashi arrived and observed Naruto doing a few katas of his new style, before he stopped and looked at Kakashi waiting for an instruction.

"Okay first I suggest you unseal your blades. We will just do a few tests to see if they will suit you in combat." Stated Kakashi as Naruto unsealed his blades.

"Now I don't know to many styles that incorporated Trench Knives, but they are similar to Kunai. If you want to learn some I can introduce you to Asuma Sarutobi when we get back so you can learn some things from him." Said Kakashi.

"I'm sure you could teach me just as much sensei. I wonder if I can do clones while holding these?" Thought Naruto thought out loud.

"Try the hand sign while holding the knives and do the jutsu." Stated Kakashi.

Naruto made a modified hand sign for Shadow Clones and called out the jutsu. Nothing happened at first, but Naruto still held the sign forcing chakra into the jutsu.

To Kakashi's surprise Naruto's shadow spilt in half and started to rise from the ground. The were both finally as tall as Naruto and started to morph into an image. Soon one could tell they were in the shape of Naruto, but dark and hard to make out.

Then they slowly changed color till they looked like exact copies of Naruto. The real Naruto finally let go of the hand-sign and started to breath pretty hard. He looked at his two clones in awe, they were actually SHADOW Clones!

"Well it seems you can actually create clones from your own shadow. This seems like a Nara type jutsu, but I've never seen anyone be able to create clones from their shadows." Said Kakashi.

This has to be one of the coolest jutsu I have ever used! I wonder how hard they are to dispel, or if they are meant for recon as they might be able to merge into shadows to hide!" Said Naruto as he examined the two clones that had yet to move from their position.

It was when he was standing in front of one of the clones that he realized that he could see himself and Kakashi-sensei from the eyes of both clones. (Paths of Pein, but severely less variety of techniques compared to him)

"Hey Sensei! I can see through their eyes! Does that mean I have to control them like I control myself?" asked Naruto as Kakashi came over started to observe the motionless clones.

"This is an interesting technique Naruto…try to focus on one of the bodies and see if you can move them." Commanded Kakashi as Naruto closed his eyes and began to focus on the clone closest to Kakashi.

Kakashi looked at the clone in the eyes until it blinked and started to move. "Sensei…this is weird." Stated Naruto as he moved his clone around for a bit.

He was doing a few shadow punches when he felt a sharp pain in the gut. He looked down and noticed the kunai in him, but no blood. In fact the kunai slowly was pushed out until it was quickly out.

Black tendrils flew out and healed the wound quickly.

"Well it seems those clones of yours are quite resilient, but can they survive complete destruction." Said Kakashi as he fired a fireball at Naruto, quicker than he could react.

The fireball engulfed the clone and when it was over there was nothing left, but a small shadow on the ground.

"I guess they have a limit to what they can take." Said Kakashi.

"Not really Sensei." Said the other clones as he pointed at the shadow that was slowly reforming from the ground. (If you have played Kingdom Hearts, think of the weakest heartless, but growing into Naruto.)

After a few seconds it had completely reformed and started to move again. This time though both were moving instead of just one of them.

"So you figured out how to control both at the same time?" asked Kakashi.

"Yep, you see there was a mental block on each clone that you must break before you can control them." Stated one clone.

"Once broken it is very easy to control them." Said the other clone.

"Think of it as moving your arms Sensei." Said the original as it stood up and opened its eyes.

Kakashi was immensely proud of his student for discovering such a powerful technique. In reality he could drop the other two and just keep Naruto as his gennin cell and no one would know the difference if they henged.

It could be used for combat, training, or recon. 'I wonder if he can use the technique with out the blades?' "Dispel your clones and put your blades away. Now I want you to try to make them without holding the knives." Commanded Kakashi.

"Okay Sensei." Said Naruto as he sealed up the knives and made the hand-sign for the Shadow Clones. He concentrated on making the same clones and started pushing chakra into the technique.

Slowly two forms grew from his shadow and merged into the shape of Naruto, but unlike the last time they did not change color.

Naruto dropped to his knee panting in exertion of putting chakra into the technique. Just making two incomplete clones had used up 2/3s of his chakra!

"It seems that your blades make it so that you can channel what appears to be shadow chakra more easily. Here let's test your affinity one more time." Said Kakashi as he handed Naruto another chakra paper.

Naruto channeled his chakra into the paper and it did the same as before, but all the pieces of paper quickly turned as black as the night sky.

"Does this mean that once I have enough control I could use techniques that no one else has ever seen before?" asked Naruto.

"Well the Nara clan has techniques that you might be able to use, but you would need permission to learn them first. However, I do believe you could do things no Nara has ever done before." Said Kakashi.

"Wow, so is it like some sort of bloodline?" asked Naruto.

"You won't be able to until you have children Naruto." Answered Kakashi.

"Oh well I better get back to training then!" said Naruto as he pulled out his blades again and made two more clones, after dispelling the two pure black clones.

"Before you start doing anything I have jutsu here that I think you would like very much. It would fit your style perfectly." Said Kakashi as he gave the scroll to Naruto.

"Wow! Sensei this will work out perfectly!" said Naruto in an excited tone.

"I thought so, now I'm going to go find Sasuke and Sakura and show them water walking. I have to teach them something or else they won't be ready for what I have planned in the future." Said Kakashi as he left the clearing.

Naurto made some regular shadow clones go work on the jutsu that he was give, while he started to some sparing with the two new clones he had just made using his blade. As a group of twenty shadow clones came at the three. 'I wonder what I should name this technique? They aren't really clones as they are an extension of my body.

He ducked under a blow that one of his new clones saw coming at him. 'That is nifty…it is like having eyes in the back of my head!' thought Naruto as he turned and slashed the neck of the exposed clone.

'I just need to work on my syncing with them…there is a second delay between my thoughts and their movements. If it wasn't for their regenerative abilities they would be gone by now.'

Just then a clone was able to disarm him from one of his blades. The blade landed deep in the ground in the shadow of one of his clones.

Normally this would mean nothing, but seeing as how the clone stopped moving all together the battle ended. Naruto walked up to his clone and looked at it. The eyes were moving around, but it seemed that it was frozen in place.

He then walked over to his knife and pulled it from the ground and the shadow of the clone. This allowed the clone to move once more to the surprise of Naruto.

'So if the blade gets stabbed into the shadow of an enemy they are immobilized until it is pulled free? This is really interesting? Now what should I call my new techniques?' thought Naruto as he sat down and began to think.

'I know! Kage Richi for it's chakra draining properties, Kage Torappu for when I trap them with the blade, and Kage Tamashi Encho for my clones or what are now my shadows. (Shadow Leach, Shadow Trap, and Shadow Soul Extension.)'

'Now to get improve control over my shadows!' thought Naruto as his clones surrounded him and his shadows. The next five hours would be straight exercising practicing control over his clones, working on his taijutsu style, and his clones working on the scroll Kakashi-sensei gave him.

Pretty soon it was the end of the week and they were all ready to leave. Inari was hugging Naruto, not wanting to leave while Kakashi was talking to Tazuna and Sakura was trying to molest Sasuke in the back.

"Don't worry Inari, I'll visit again someday. Besides I'm sure Konoha might need someone like your grandfather in the future." Said Naruto trying to reassure the boy.

"I know, but if it wasn't for you we would still be under Gato's rule!" said Inari as he began to cry a bit.

"Hey what did I say about crying?" asked Naruto.

"I'm not crying…they're tears of joy!" replied Inari.

"Sure…stay strong gaki." Said Naruto as he began to walk over to where his team stood.

It was at that moment that Sasuke finally took notice of the tattoo that was now on Naruto's arm. "Dobe…where did you get that tattoo?" demanded Sasuke.

"Hm…you say something Sasuke?" asked Naruto as he stood off to the side a bit.

Meanwhile Kakashi had sneezed during his conversation with Tazuna.

"I demand you tell me how you got that tattoo on your wrist!" demanded Sasuke again as Sakura finally saw the tattoo.

"Yeah! You think your cool cause you have a tattoo and Sasuke doesn't? If anything it makes you look even more like a Dobe!" yelled Sakura, but Naruto just ignored her and looked directly at Sasuke.

"You have no right to demand anything from me Sasuke. Get that stick out of your butt and learn that not everyone is below you." Said Naruto as he and Sasuke started to glare at each other.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan, but at that moment he felt could steel pressed against his neck.

"If this was a real fight you would be dead Sasuke." Said Naruto as his clone released the pissed Sasuke.

Luckily a fight was avoided as Kakashi came walking over with an eye smile.

"Well team it is time for us to leave!" he stated.

"It is about time." Said Sasuke as he looked away, but one could tell he was still pissed.

"Cha! I can't wait to get back home!" yelled Sakura as Naruto couldn't believe how loud she was.

'I can't believe I ever liked her.' He thought.

"Yo! Tazuna, Inari, and Tsunami! I'll miss you guys! If you ever come to Konoha just look me up!" he yelled as his team jumped into the trees.

What was a two day journey while escorting civilians was nothing but a three hour journey for ninja. Naruto noted that Sasuke was panting lightly, and Sakura was sweating up a lake and panting in exhaustion.

He himself was carrying weights, but wasn't even warmed up at this speed. 'It still isn't strong enough. This is nothing but a walk for someone at Kakashi's level.' Thought Naruto.

"I can't wait to get back home!" he stated out of the blue.

"Hn…your excited about anything Dobe." Said Sasuke, despite it being labored.

"I'm just saying…there are some things I need to buy. Since this is an A-Rank mission, I should be able to afford new kunai, shuriken, wire, and clothes! I'm so tired of this orange jumpsuit…I want something in black!" said Naruto to surprise of his teammates.

'I thought orange was his favorite color?' thought Sasuke and Sakura.

They made it to the gates and saw two chuunin guarding the gates. Kakashi walked forward to allow them to pass through.

"Team 7 requesting entrance after successful completion of a mission to the Land of Waves." Said Kakashi as he handed them the documents and they were let into the village.

"Okay team first we will go to the Hokage to report and then you will be given a week off from team training." Said Kakashi as they left for the Hokage Tower.

'He did the same thing as the Bell Test! He hinted to the fact that there would be no team training, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't train or ask for some help from him or others.' Thought Naruto as they got to the tower and began to make their way to the Hokage's room.

On the way they ran into Team 8, also entering for a mission.

"Hey Hinata, Kiba, Shino!" said Naruto as he saw the team.

"What's up Naruto!" said Kiba loudly as he and Naruto were friends during the academy.

"BARK" said Akamaru as he popped up from Kiba's hood.

"Hi to you too Akamaru." Said Naruto.

Shino simply nodded to his fellow ninja and Hinata turned bright red before answering.

"H-he-llo N-Naruto-K-kun." Said Hinata shyly as she shrank back a bit.

"It's okay Hinata! I'm not going to hurt you! You don't have to be afraid of talking to me!" exclaimed Naruto quickly.

"I-I'm n-not afraid N-Naruto-K-kun." She said a bit bolder than before.

"Good! I would want someone as cute as you to be afraid of me!" exclaimed Naruto, unaware of what his words would do.

Slowly her head turned a brighter red before she fell over on the floor to Naruto's surprise.

"Hinata!" he yelled as everyone else looked the two with sweat drops.

"Guys what's wrong with her!" he said.

"Don't worry Naruto…she does this a lot. I'm Kurenai Yuuhi, her sensei." Said the red eyed brunette.

"Okay…nice to meet you Ma'am." Said Naruto as he shook her hand. It was at that moment when they were asked to come into the Hokage's office.

"Ahh Team 8 good to see you…and Team 7! How was your first C-Rank mission?" asked the Hokage to the surprise of Team 8.

"It was good Jiji…but we ran into some trouble." Said Naruto.

"Let me explain Naruto. We were confronted by a total of 4 ninja on the mission. Two were chuunin level, one was an unknown rank, and the other was a jounin that went by the name of Zabuza." Said Kakashi as the Hokage stood up in surprise and Kurenai gasped in alarm.

"Then this mission was at least A-Rank at least Kakashi!" said the Hokage.

"Yes it was and after the bridge was complete the client paid twice the amount of a normal A-Rank to compensate." Said Kakashi.

"How did your team handle the situation Kakashi?" asked the Hokage.

"I believe they all handled it perfectly, but there are some things that we must discuss in private about Naruto here." Said Kakashi.

"What why! I'm the Uchiha…if anything you should be talking about me.!" Exclaimed Sasuke in surprise.

"Sasuke I suggest you hold your tongue or else you will be escorted from the room. Now Kakashi will you give me a detailed account of this mission?" asked the Hokage. After the debriefing and Kurenai's team getting a mission it was only Kakashi, the Hokage, and Naruto left.

"Now what is it that I should know?" asked the Hokage.

"I accessed the Kyubi's chakra for a brief moment during my battle with Haku." Said Naruto.

"Are you feeling any different?" asked the Hokage.

"Not at all Jiji! Actually I feel better than ever!" said Naruto.

"That actually brings us to our next subject Hokage-Sama. It seems Naruto found a weapon while we were in the Land of Waves." Said Kakashi as Naruto unsealed his twin Trench Knives.

"How did you find these weapons Naruto?" asked the Hokage.

"Well…" started Naruto as he proceeded to the Hokage about the mysterious cave.

"I see this is certainly a mysterious find, but what I want to know is if there are any special properties that these knives have?" asked the Hokage.

"Well when we are testing them we found that Naruto's blades can drain chakra, and create unique clones." Started Kakashi.

"Yep I call them Kage Richi, and Kage Tamashi Encho! All of the abilities so far are shadow based and by what Kakashi said about my chakra affinity I now have shadow as a secondary element." Said Naruto brightly.

"Wow that surely is surprising! May I ask what you primary affinity is Naruto?" asked the Hokage.

"Well I determined with help from Sensei that I have a large affinity for wind jutsu. So I'm going to find Asuma and ask him if he can show me the first stage of mastering my wind element." Said Naruto.

"That is a good plan Naruto. Why don't you go now, Kakashi and I have some things to discuss." Said the Hokage as Naruto left to get his new clothes and weapons.

"I thought it was clear that no student was made to take preference over the others Kakashi? He has learned far more than the others." Said the Hokage.

"He is the only one asking for help…he isn't asking me to do everything for him. Just a few pushes in the right direction and some demonstrations like his father did for me. The others aren't so willing in that regard." Said Kakashi as he paused to think over the information.

"Sakura is too fangirlish and is doing nothing to get stronger. She spends all day fretting over Sasuke and when I ask her to do more she doesn't listen. Sasuke demands for me to show him all my jutsu since he has now activated his Sharingan." Said Kakashi in distaste.

"Do you want to continue with this team then?" asked the Hokage.

"I'm going to put them in the Chuunin exams…if they don't wise up by then. Then I will be forced to drop both Sakura and Sasuke and take Naruto as an apprentice." Answered Kakashi.

"Very well Kakashi. I trust your judgment in these matters. Now what about his shadow chakra…is it similar to a Nara?" asked the Hokage.

"It is much denser than a Nara's, but it takes much control when he doesn't use his blades. He releases too much chakra then. When he uses the knives then his control is strong enough to waste a little chakra." Said Kakashi.

"Okay…I might talk to Shikaku to perhaps teach him a few techniques. That's if he finds Naruto worth enough to know those techniques." Said the Hokage.

"Is that all Sir?" asked Kakashi.

"Yes it is, you are dismissed." Said the Hokage.

Naruto was looking around one of the shinobi stores in Konoha picking out new clothing. He had already selected black tactical pants, and a black jacket with crimson trimming.

The jacket had room for hidden kunai and he had chain mesh shirt underneath. Kunai and shuriken holsters on both legs for quick access. Overall the new look fit him nicely.

Since he still had a few hours left to train he decided to seek out Asuma Sarutobi for wind chakra training. Summoning twenty clones he sent them to various training grounds looking for the jounin.

Five minutes later one of his clones found Team 10 practicing team exercises on training ground 10. It only took him a minute to get there and watch the team doing what looked like a standard formation.

Soon they were taking a small break when he noticed Shikamaru glance in his direction. Next, thing he knew there was a kunai heading for his head. He tilted his head to the side to avoid it.

"I know you are there! Come down now or we will be forced to fight." He stated as his teammates came to his side ready to battle.

He saw Asuma behind them just smiling like he knew who was watching them. Why shouldn't he, Naruto had asked for aid right after the Bell Test so Asuma must have know his chakra signature.

'You know this would be a good training exercise.' Thought Naruto as he did a henge on his face that made him have brown hair, no whisker marks, and a scar across his cheek. The last was he put his headband away.

'Now for the fun part.' He thought as he jumped down in front of them.

"So the little kiddies want to play?" he said in a sinister voice and a creepy grin.

"Who are you and what are you doing in Konoha?" Asked Shikamaru.

"Hmm…I'm no one and why I'm here is none of your business." He stated.

"I will ask you one more time! Who are you and what are you doing here in Konoha?" asked Shikamaru again as the three crouched down a bit to start battle.

"I will tell you if you defeat me in combat, but if you don't then your sensei has to do something for me." He challenged in his sinister voice.

Before Team 10 could respond they heard Asuma agree to the terms.

Naruto smiled at this information…now he just needed to beat Team 10.

"Well let's start then!" said Naruto as he jumped back and threw three kunai at the gennin.

The three quickly dodged and came running at him with Chouji in the lead and Shikamaru at the back. Naruto saw Shikamaru's shadow coming early and jumped right past it and met Chouji at the front.

Ducking under a swing Naruto brought his knee up and caught him in the gut before spinning around him and blocking a punch from Ino. He grabbed her hand and threw her over his shoulder and ran at Shikamaru, who was defenseless.

Thankfully with his new training he was much faster and made it to Shikamaru before his shadow could catch him. Aiming a punch at him Shikamaru rolled to the side and ducked under a kick that was sent at him by Naruto.

Shikamaru sent his own leg out to trip his opponent, but the boy jumped over it and appeared to go for another punch to the face, but at the last second spun in air and hit Shikamaru in the gut with a foot.

Shikamaru rolled to the side to cushion the blow, but the boy had already anticipated that and was bringing a hammer blow on him. That was when Chouji reappeared and blocked the blow.

Naruto was forced to jump back as Ino sent shuriken and kunai at him. He pulled his own and started to block them as he got distance between Team 10 and him.

"Chouji do it!" yelled Shikamaru as Chouji inflated and sucked his body parts in and stared spinning at a fast rate before hurtling towards Naruto.

Slightly surprised Naruto dodged to the side and ran at Shikamaru and Ino. However, once again he had to jump back as Chouji cam at him again.

This time however Ino was throwing kunai to make sure he stayed back away from them. Naruto was finally able to get past Chouji and was running right Ino.

Preparing a massive haymaker on the girl he suddenly stopped moving. He looked down with his eyes and saw a shadow coming from Shikamaru. 'So this is one of the Nara jutsu?' questioned Naruto as Shikamaru straightened up and Ino and Chouji surrounded him.

"Now that you have lost, what is your name and what are you doing in Konoha?" questioned Shikamaru.

"Who said I lost?" questioned Naruto as he began to glow brightly. "Art is an explosion!" he shouted as Team 10 all leapt back to the cover of the trees. As an explosion destroyed the area close to the clone.

As the members of Team 10 regained their orientation they found cold steel placed against their throats. Each one of them had a clone with a kunai at their necks ready to kill them.

"It seems you have lost." Stated the enemy shinobi.

"Now that you have defeated my team, what will you do about me?" asked Asuma Sarutobi as he walked over.

"Hehe you will be teaching the beginnings of elemental manipulation for wind!" said the Shinobi to the surprise of Team 10.

"You can drop the henge…Naruto." Said Asuma as each clone popped out of existence as Naruto walked out from behind the trees with a smile on his face.

Team 10 was flabbergasted by the fact that it was Naruto that they had been fighting the whole time! They couldn't believe that they had lost to the Dead Last.

"So Asuma-sensei? Will you please teach me the first step?" asked Naruto as Team 10 recovered their minds.

"NARUTO! WHY DID YOU DO THAT! I ACTUALLY THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO BE KILLED THERE!" screamed Ino.

"My troublesome teammate is right…why didn't you just come out. We didn't need to do that troublesome fight." Stated Shikamaru as he observed the blonde.

"Yeah, I mean it is good to see you, but what's with doing that to us?" asked Chouji.

"Hehe sorry guys I just thought it would be a good exercise right there. I wasn't intending on hurting any of you." Replied Naruto as he grinned at them.

Shikamaru was still trying to figure out how the blonde got so strong. 'This isn't the same blonde as before. I have to throw everything I know about Naruto out of my mind.'

"Well sensei?" he asked hopefully.

"We did have a deal after all." Said Asuma as he took a scroll out and threw it to Naruto.

Naruto looked at it for a second before looking at Asuma. "I only asked for the first part? You didn't have to give me all of this." Said Naruto.

"Consider it a gift for completing your first A-Rank mission." Said Asuma to the shock of his team.

"Thanks Sensei!" said Naruto as he left to find a place to train.

"Did we just get beat by Naruto?" asked Ino as she just realized that it was the dead last.

"Troublesome Blondes…" stated Shikamaru.

Naruto made it to Training Ground 7 and started to read the scroll. 'So I have to cut a leaf using wind chakra? Sounds easy, but I know it is going to be hard.' He thought as he made 50 clones start doing the exercise.

Two weeks later after a week of team exercising and conditioning

The past week had been horrible for many different reasons. First, Sasuke was starting to notice that Naruto was getting strong…really strong. He was catching up to him on the runs, lifting more, and even outlasting him on chakra exercises.

This just made Naruto mad, as Sasuke kept demanding Naruto to tell him what he knew, while Sakura supported him all the time.

Second, Sakura wasn't doing anything to really improve and she was holding the team back.

Then there were the civilians that kept treating him like garbage, but thankfully they couldn't do anything since he was now Shinobi.

Luckily there were some good things like him finishing the first two stages of elemental manipulation that Asuma had given him, plus the two C-Rank jutsu he now new.

He had also learned a powerful technique for his Trench Knives. He was saving it for when he fought in the Chuunin exams, but it was powerful and quick, or he would use it on a powerful opponent.

Thankfully he learned a style quickly using his Trench Knives as it was similar to using Kunai to fight. He rarely showed them though and it was never in the presence of Sasuke or Sakura.

Right now Team 7 was going to the Hokage's office to get another mission before the Chuunin exam in two weeks. Kakashi had already told them that they would be participating in it.

As they entered they found Team 8 there standing there at attention waiting for orders. The Hokage smiled at them as they entered the room.

"Ahh Team 7 just the people I was looking for! You will be accompanying Team 8 on a mission to eliminate a group of bandits that has camped out by the border of Fire Country. Kakashi will lead the mission with Kurenai as second in command. Kakashi and Kurenai, I would like your input in who should lead the mission if the two of you are incapacitated?" asked the Hokage.

Kakashi and Kurenai started talking for a little bit so that the others couldn't hear them.

"I know you will suggest Sasuke as team leader, but I believe Shino will make a better leader as he is more logical and won't just make rash decisions." Said Kurenai.

"Well I actually believe Naruto should lead the teams." He said to her surprise.

"What! But he was the dead last at the academy! He doesn't think things through and would be a bad leader." Said Kurenai.

"He is more than capable to be a team leader as he is the strongest gennin on my team. More than once he has shown that he grown up and become a more than capable leader for this team." Stated Kakashi.

"If you believe him to be then I will follow your judgment." She said as they walked over to where the teams were.

They were about to speak, before Sasuke decided to open his mouth.

"I accept being leader of the team for this mission Senseis." Stated Kakashi smugly.

"Actually we chose Naruto to lead the Gennin on this trip." Stated Kakashi as Sasuke looked outraged, Sakura looked affronted, Team 8 looked surprised, and Naruto looked the same.

"Sensei I believe I do not deserve this role as leader." Stated Naruto.

"Yeah why does the Dobe lead this mission? If it should be anyone to lead this mission it should be me, an Uchiha elite!" demanded Sasuke angrily.

"That is not why sensei. I believe it should be Shino who should lead this mission." Stated Naruto, once again causing everyone to be surprised.

"And that is why you are leading this mission. You can make decisions that will benefit the team as a whole." Stated Kakashi.

All the while Sasuke looked like he could kill someone. It should be him the Uchiha Elite that should be leading this mission. He needed to get stronger in order to kill his brother and that Naruto kept getting in his way.

"Destroy the Camp! That is the mission, understood?" asked the Hokage.

"Hai!" they all responded.

They all met at the East Gate one hour after the meeting.

"Okay teams do you have all you need for the mission? This should only be a three-day mission. We will be in and out as quickly as we can." Stated Kakashi.

"Hai!" the gennin responded as they took off.

Team 7 was in the lead with Team 8 behind. Hinata had her Byakugan activated and Naruto had clones running around the area. Soon they would all have to make their first kill and became real Shinobi.

How did everyone like that for my newest story! Naruto isn't super powered but he his stronger than what he was in the Canon. He doesn't have a sword that makes him invincible, just a weapon with a few perks.

I am not done writing The Forsaken Fox, for all of you who are wondering. I am just taking a small break from writing it due to me being bored with Bleach right now.

Leave Reviews so I know how all of you like my new story!


	2. The Mission

Well I hope you all liked the first chapter to my newest story, The Fox's Shadow! This chapter will be the bandit camp attack and the first part of the Chuunin exams. There are going to be some major character developments in the battle coming up. Some will be for the best and others will lead to misery and death. Let's just say that the information on the camp was wrong.

Some of you might accuse me of making Naruto too strong, but just remember that underestimating someone with a knife can kill you. Now with out anymore stalling here is the second chapter of my story.

"Are you sure about the teams Kakashi?" asked Kurenai from their position on a cliff above the bandit camp.

"I'm sure, they need to work with other people in different teams if they want to get the experience that they need." Replied Kakashi as he waited for the pairs to report in that they were ready.

It had been decided that Shino and Sakura would prevent people from escaping the camp. That was if they got past the three teams assaulting the camp.

Those teams were Kurenai and Kakashi, Sasuke and Kiba, and Naruto and Hinata.

It was because of the Naruto and Hinata pairing that Kurenai was apprehensive about the strategy. Naruto was the dead last in the academy, while Hinata didn't have the heart to kill anyone.

She had no idea that Naruto had come so far in the past two months and was now at mid chuunin level and easily one of the strongest gennin. His mind had gotten sharp and deadly. He could think up strategies on the fly and act out any role that was needed.

Then there was his nature of just drawing the attention of everyone when he walked into the rooms. He would gladly give his life for anyone of his friends or comrades, never give up even when facing impossible odds, and surprise even the most experienced shinobi.

Kakashi knew for a fact that if anyone was to be paired with shy Hinata it would have to be Naruto. He knew of her crush like everyone but Naruto and that was the main reason for putting her with him.

If Naruto was in danger, she would step in to save his life no matter how shy she was. Kakashi was more worried about Kiba and Sasuke.

They were both rash and would make it a competition to see who could kill more. There was no way of them working together to face a common goal, unless faced with someone stronger than them.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Kakashi through his radio.

"I still don't know why I was placed with the creepy Bug boy." Said Sakura as she crouched down a few hundred yards from the camp.

"Stay focused…you never know what can go wrong on a mission." Said Shino, as if he didn't care she insulted him.

"Why? Sasuke can handle all of the bandits by himself! He is the strongest ninja of our generation after all!" declared Sakura loudly.

"I'm not too sure about that…I know of four gennin who can defeat him in combat." Said Shino as he continued to be on alert.

"Yeah right! Sasuke is the greatest!" she declared.

"_Is everyone ready?"_ said through the speaker.

"I don't know why they put you with me. I don't need help to deal with a few bandits." Said Sasuke smugly.

"You arrogant ass! I'll have beaten more bandits than you by the end of the battle! Then we will see who is better." Challenged Kiba as he glared at Sasuke.

"You got yourself a deal Mutt." Accepted Sasuke as the two glared at each other.

"Although I bet Dobe would provide more of a challenge than you." Said Sasuke as Kiba and Akamaru growled at the emo boy.

"We'll see Sasuke." Growled out Kiba as he turned his attention back to the camp.

"_Is everybody ready?"_ asked Kakashi.

Hinata stared at the boy that she liked. He had changed so much in the past two months, but she could still tell that he was the same.

His eyes still twinkled when he smiled and that smile itself could brighten anyone's day when they saw it. Although on the outside he was cool, calm, and collected. A big change from the brash, loud, and obnoxious boy he was before.

But Hinata liked this Naruto just the same if not more than before. She could tell he was ready for the mission. The Byakugan could read people like a book and she could tell he was ready.

His eyes were sharp, picking up any signs of movement or light. His ears were twitching trying to pick up the softest of sounds so that no one could sneak up on them. Hands held kunai in a firm grip ready at a moments notice to be used.

Yes he had changed more than any other gennin of the year.

Unlike herself…she was nervous, fidgeting, sweating, and unfocused. She just knew that she would let Naruto down during the battle and that it would lead to him being hurt.

Naruto seemed to sense her duress and looked directly at her with eyes that showed concern.

"Hinata are you okay?" he asked in a soft tone.

"N-Naruto-k-kun I'm o-okay!" she said, but her eyes didn't reflect what they said.

There was fear in her eyes, but it was fear of the mission itself but of failing. Naruto had seen those eyes before in himself. He would not anyone else go through what he went through after the Bell Test.

"No you aren't Hinata…you're scared." He plainly stated, causing Hinata to gasp and look down.

Tears sprang to her eyes as thoughts of Naruto thinking of her being weak came to her mind. However, she felt someone place their hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"It's okay Hinata…I'm scared too. I may have faced death a few more times than you, but it doesn't ever get less scary. You just have to focus on the task and let your body do the rest." Said Naruto with a kind smile.

"B-but I-I've n-never k-ki-killed someone b-before. I-I-'m a-fraid of l-letting you d-down." She said sadly.

"That's how I felt on my first serious mission Hinata. I was so weak and I could do nothing to help my team, so I resolved to get stronger to protect them." He said as he smiled at her.

"But what if I fail! I could get you killed!" she said quickly, not even stuttering.

"That's why you won't fail me Hinata. It is when we are protecting our precious people that we truly become strong. As long as you fight to protect you will never be weak." He stated.

Hinata was speechless as Naruto told her this. Did this mean that she was one of his special people? It was a dream come true.

"When we get down there I will be watching your back while you are watching mine. I trust you Hinata as long as you can trust me. Do you trust me Hinata?" he asked confidently with that infectious smile.

She looked into his eyes and was lost for a moment. She could feel warmth spread through her body and in that moment she felt more confident then any other time in her life.

Her eyes took on a look of great confidence and responded. "Hai Naruto, I trust you with my life as long as you can trust me."

"Good!" said Naruto as he smiled at her.

"_Is everybody ready?"_ they heard Kakashi say over the radio.

Back with Kakashi and Kurenai.

"_This is Pink and Bug! In position and ready!"_ came the voice of Sakura.

"_This is Canine and Flame! In position and ready!" _came Kiba's voice.

"_This is Lavender and Fox! In position and ready for phase 1!" _came the confident voice of Hinata over the radio.

"She didn't stutter at all!" claimed Kurenai in surprise.

"And I thought it would take a bit longer for Naruto to break that stutter of hers." Commented Kakashi as Kurenai looked at him.

"You knew this would happen?" she asked in surprise.

"Of course! Naruto has a habit of making the impossible look easy for a three year old." He responded.

"I'm going to have to thank him at the end of this mission." Kurenai remarked.

"That can wait. _Start the phase 1, Fox!"_ said Kakashi through the microphone.

"Here we go!" said Naruto as he concentrated for a second before thirty shadow clones henged as rocks and animals changed back to normal and charged the bandits.

They quickly killed off the outer guards, but the noise alerted the rest of the camp and soon there was a melee on the outer edges of the camp. After a minute of fighting the clones all started glowing.

"Hey Hinata…just remember Art is an Explosion! Katsu!" he yelled as 18 explosive clones blew up at the same time. Completely decimating the palisade wall that surrounded the camp and killing or injuring around 40 bandits and rebels.

"_Begin phase 2!"_ came Kakashi's voice as Hinata, Naruto, Kiba, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Kurenai attacked at once.

Naruto summoned 10 clones that surrounded him and Hinata. They landed in a group of twenty bandits and started fighting.

Naruto and 5 of his clones were using kunai to quickly kill the bandits, by slashing their throats or stabbing their arts. His new training basically made him to fast for the bandits to see.

Hinata was having a bit more trouble fighting the bandits as she was a bit slower than Naruto. Thankfully 5 of his clones were covering her and making sure she didn't get hurt by any lucky hit.

Sasuke and Kiba were doing their own thing as Sasuke let loose a massive fire ball at the a group of bandits and laughed as 12 were burned to ashes. His Sharingan made it impossible to even be hit by such slow bandits.

Kiba and Akamaru were tearing through the bandits. The two were like tornado's through a Kansas dairy farm, however they found less joy in killing than Sasuke.

Sakura and Shino were sitting there waiting just incase any bandits made it through their teammates. Suddenly, Shino talked Sakura to the ground as a kunai whizzed by her head.

The two looked up and found four enemy Shinobi standing there looking at the two. "Well it seems that while we were gone some shinobi decided to attack our army." Said the smallest of the group, who was the only female.

"It seems so." Said a large bulky man.

"Mai, who is fighting in the base?" asked a man looking about twenty two with black hair.

The small girl closed her eyes for a second before responding. "There are two jounin fighting at the west wing, one gennin and one chuunin at the North wing, and there is one gennin with one jounin at the east wing. However, that is just the level of their chakra. Their control suggests a high chuunin level." Said the girl.

"Two jounin at once? Hidan I want you take them down." Said the black haired one.

"Pussy! You just want the easiest one! Haha and here I thought you were tough you freaking coward!" laughed the white haired one. He was in a black cloak and was carrying a triple bladed scythe. (Yes it is him, all will be explained at the end of the battles.)

"Mai take these two gennin, Goro go after the chuunin and the gennin. I will go after the other jounin." Said the obvious leader of the group.

The other two quickly left as the girl looked at the two before them. She had orange spikey long hair. "It looks like I get the kiddies of the group." She said evilly.

Sasuke and Kiba had just finished off the last of their bandits and were arguing who got the most kills.

"There is no way an Uchiha Elite could lose to a dog like you!" Sasuke declared arrogantly.

"You are a prick!" yelled Kiba angrily.

Just then the two jumped back as a massive boulder landed between the two of them. They looked to the side and noticed a large man standing there. He was bald and had extremely tan skin.

"Hmm I though she said I would be fighting a chuunin here? How am I supposed to test myself against others if they aren't even my level!" declared the man as the two gennin glared at him.

"Hn…I'll show you just how weak you are!" declared Sasuke as he smirked got into a stance.

"Haha don't make me laugh boy! You won't even be able to scratch me!" laughed the man as he picked up another boulder with his arms and threw it at Sasuke.

Sasuke easily dodged it and deduced that the man may be strong but he was extremely slow. I will defeat him, then I will be one step close to defeating my brother.

Kakashi had just finished his last bandit and was cleaning his kunai. "This mission went well!" he said cheerfully as Kurenai walked over.

"Yes we are lucky! Wait!" she shouted all of a sudden as Kakashi got wide eyed at the fact that he could sense four chuunin and above chakra signatures heading into the base. The strongest was heading towards them.

It took thirty seconds for him to reach them, he was tall, handsome, and had whit hair. Only problems were the evil smile and the giant scythe he carried. "So I have to deal with these two pathetic excuses for a jounin?" he asked himself.

"Watch what you say, we have more than a few surprises for you." Said Kakashi as he revealed his eye and got into a stance as Kurenai did the same.

"Your blood isn't even good enough for Jashin to take! Maybe my friend might have some more fun with that jounin and the gennin." He said as he charged at them.

'We are the only jounin on the mission? Who is he talking about?' thought Kurenai as she jumped back.

'They sent a jounin at Naruto since they sensed his chakra levels!' thought Kakashi in worry.

"See Hinata-Chan! I told you we could do it!" exclaimed Naruto as he pulled a kunai out of a body.

"Thanks Naruto I couldn't have done it without you." She said with a small smile as Naruto smiled brightly at her.

"You did great Hinata, we didn't have a single problem." He said with a smile. Then his smile morphed into a frown as he spun around and blocked a kunai aimed at his head.

"What is this! I thought I was going to get a jounin, but instead I get two wet nose gennin! I believe that Mai is losing her touch!" he yelled.

Both Naruto and Hinata got close together and observed this unknown nin.

"We can take him Hinata…just stick close together. Kakashi and Kurenai will be here shortly." He said, but the enemy just laughed at him.

"Don't make me laugh kid! The two of them are dealing with a S-Rank criminal by the name of Hidan! They stand no chance just like you two! The name's Inferuno, and by the end of this you will be nothing, but a pile of ash." Yelled the man as he started going through hand signs.

"Get behind me Hinata!" yelled Naruto as he went through three hand signs.

"Katon: Burning Wave!" he yelled as he fired a stream of bright fire.

"Futon: Great Breakthrough!" Naruto yelled in response as he concentrated the jutsu at the center of the wave of fire. The wind pushed the fire to the side, but made it much more hot.

"Kid don't you know that fire beats wind?" asked Inferuno as he crouched down.

"It did good enough! Hinata stay behind me and look for an opening! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" yelled Naruto as 5 clones surrounded him and they charged the nin with Hinata not far behind.

"You're pretty fast for a gennin, but I'm not a jounin for nothing!" he declared as he jumped in the are and fired a large ball of fire at Naruto and the clones.

Naruto and Hinata were thrown out of the circle by clones, just before it engulfed them. "Okay, Hinata I will attack him directly while you stay back. When he is distracted disable him!" yelled Naruto as he charged the nin again.

Hinata looked in awe as Naruto closed the distance faster than before and engaged the nin. She watched and waited for Naruto to make that opening that she needed, but the nin wasn't jounin for nothing.

He played with Naruto just dodging all of his attacks, so Naruto made six clones that joined in on the assault. I will give you this kid, you are easily chuunin level. However, I am a B-Rank missing nin from Iwa. You are clearly outmatched by me." He declared as he sped up and nailed Naruto in the gut with a knee then spun around and kicked over to where Hinata was. He then destroyed all of the clones.

"Too easy…what!" said the nin as the body poofed into smoke.

"Surprise!" yelled Naruto as he came from above and nailed the jounin with a powerful heel kick.

However, luck wasn't on his side as he turned into a destroyed log.

"Damn!" cursed Naruto as he dodged out of the way of a few fire balls. He then was put on the defensive as the nin appeared again.

Naruto was letting 1 out of every three hits in. His speed just wasn't good enough to keep up with the jounin. The nin delivered a hard knee to his gut and he went flying into one of the tents.

"Kid has some skill…" he started, but was interrupted as Hinata delivered a strike to his extended arm.

"I won't let you hurt Naruto-kun!" she declared as she pressed her advantage and tried to disable him before he regained control to his arm.

"Stupid girl!" he yelled as he dodged another strike and kicked her feet out from beneath her. Then punched her with his good arm into the ground.

Hinata slowly got up and got into her stance. She had cuts on her body and was bruised a bit, but she could still fight. It was then that Naruto joined her side once more.

"Good job Hinata! His arm is disabled now!" he said as he smirked and made the Ram sign.

"Doesn't matter kid! I'm still strong enough to beat you at your current level!" he declared.

"Maybe then, but not now! RELEASE!" he shouted as his chakra weights were removed.

"Here I come!" yelled Naruto as he disappeared.

"What…!" exclaimed the nin before he was punched in the gut! As he was kneeled over he felt a knee hit him in the gut, sending him upwards. There he was met with a clone that delivered a hammer blow to his face.

Naruto appeared by Hinata and started to roll his shoulders. "Damn, I have to train more with my weights off! It hurts my body too much to move at those speeds." He panted out.

"Damn you kid!" shouted the man as he slowly stood up. His head was bleeding and his clothes were cut up, but he was still fine.

'Damn! There is no way I can catch him by surprise again like that! It is time to bring out my knives.' He thought.

"Bring it!" yelled Naruto as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal his tattoo. "Meet my Shadow's!" yelled Naruto as he was obscured by a puff of smoke.

Naruto was now standing there holding twin trench knives with the crescent moon design. Hinata could tell they were special as she could see the chakra in them, but the nin just laughed.

"Your blades won't help you now! I'm going all out against you kids!" yelled the man.

"Kage Tamashi Encho!" yelled Naruto as two clones grew out of his shadow that was created by Inferuno's fire.

"Let's go Hinata!" he yelled as the four charged the nin.

"Katon: Fists of Malice!" yelled the nin as his fists became covered with fire.

Naruto's shadows reached him first and engaged him with their blades, but the fire from the fists was some how able to black the knives.

"The fire is so dense that it can block anything!" he yelled as he slammed a fist into one of the shadows. It flew backwards with a large burn on its body.

Naruto joined in with the shadow and were able to dodge his attacks. They also managed to get a good cut across his leg. The nin was hard pressed to land a hit as Naruto and his shadow could see him at two angles. If Naruto was attacking the other would defend perfectly.

It was then that Hinata came into the fray from behind, but the nin expected that and dodged. However, her strike went right to Naruto's shoulder. Since he was wide open he could do nothing to dodge the blow.

He was launched across the clearing and slowly tried to stand up. Thanks to his momentary loss of concentration his shadow stopped for one second, but that was all it took for it to be destroyed by a burning fist through its chest.

Naruto got up and charged the nin, fully intent on helping his friend.

Hinata herself could do nothing, but dodge the burning fists. Each time he swung he got a little closer to hitting her.

It was at that moment that she tripped off a rock and watched as the burning fist travelled straight at her chest.

She watched as the fist got closer and closer, so she closed her eyes expecting the worst. 'At least I went down trying to protect Naruto.' She thought.

However she felt nothing hit her, but did hear a grunt, scream of rage, and a splash of warm liquid on her face. She opened her eyes and saw the nin holding what used to be his arm.

Then she spied in the corner of her Byakugan eyes Naruto holding his gut 20 meters away. The clothes were burnt and she could smell cooked meat. It made her nearly retch when she realized that it was Naruto she smelled.

He must have taken the blow for her and delivered a crippling blow to their opponent. She couldn't believe that he took that blow for her.

"You bastard! You cut off my arm! I'm going to kill you!" he yelled as he charged Naruto who was barely on his knees staring at the nin coming at him.

Both of Naruto's shadows came in to stop him, but he just destroyed them with his last burning arm. They both broke apart and merged with the ground.

She saw Naruto stab both of his blades into the ground and watch the nin get closer.

"This ends now!" the nin yelled as he cocked his last arm back to finish the fight. However, that did not work out as his arm was stopped mid swing.

He looked back and saw a black tendril wrapped around his arm. Then he felt things wrapping around his entire body. He struggled in a vain attempt to free him self from the tendrils that were slowly covering his whole body.

"What did you do!" he yelled as he was dragged to the ground. The dark ground that showed nothing, but a pit of darkness.

Naruto looked up and met the eyes of the nin and smiled. "This is my Kage Seifuku…it will suck all the chakra and life from your body once you are completely covered. It has already started to drain your chakra." Stated Naruto.

"NO I will not die like this!" Inferuno shouted as he struggled even more, but it was too no avail as the shadow covered him completely and he was nothing more than a mass of black on the ground.

Naruto held it for a few seconds before he finally released the jutsu. What was left of Inferuno was nothing but a pale body that looked like nothing, but skin and bones.

Hinata wasted no time and ran over to him. "Naruto-kun are you alright?" she asked in concern.

"Yeah, my body heals burns quickly. However, I don't think I will be training for the next few days." He stated as Hinata turned him on his back.

"What are you doing Hinata?" he asked in a surprised tone.

"I'm looking at that burn! Now don't move until I say you can move!" she ordered as Naruto looked at her with a confused yet proud look.

She took out an ointment and started to spread it across his exposed chest! Immediately Naruto felt the stuff do some good as he stopped feeling the pain.

"There! Now let's wrap that up!" she exclaimed as she wrapped up his side for him.

"Thanks Hinata! Think you could help me up now?" he asked as Hinata pulled him up and supported his weight.

"Thank you Naruto for saving me." She said quietly.

"It was no problem Hinata! I would do that for any of my precious people!" he responded cheerfully. Causing Hinata to blush and smile a bit.

"Do you know where the others are?" he asked.

Sakura and Shino are on their way here, Sasuke and Kiba are with Kurenai and Kakashi. They are also on their way here. They all had to defeat other ninja." She said.

"I'm glad they are all okay. Hey we just beat a jounin Hinata! We are going to get so much money for this!" Naruto exclaimed.

"But don't we need proof that they are dead Naruto?" asked Hinata.

"That's why I took his hand when I cut it off." Responded Naruto as he pulled out the hand of Inferuno.

"That is disgusting!" exclaimed Hinata.

"Yes, but I can buy new clothes with this! Hahaha" laughed Naruto. "You haven't stuttered for awhile Hinata." Stated Naruto.

"I know…I guess after something like that there is no reason to be scared of anything anymore. Thank you Naruto…you gave me so much courage today." Said Hinata with a small smile at the end, and her cheeks got a little red.

"Eh you know your voice is cute when you don't stutter right?" he asked, which made her cheeks go bright red.

"T-thank y-you N-naruto." She stuttered out.

"Ah and you were doing so good to!" said Naruto as Hinata had to look away to make herself not blush so much.

"Hinata! Naruto!" they heard someone yell.

Then from nowhere Kurenai appeared in front of them, but she had to dodge two kunai thrown at her by the pair.

"I'm sorry Sensei!" exclaimed Hinata in shock at the fact that she just threw a kunai at Kurenai.

"Who cares about that! Are you two okay? Kiba, Sasuke, and Sakura have a few injuries. Shino didn't get hurt, but they weren't fighting a jounin!" exclaimed Kurenai as she checked the two over.

"It's okay, I have a few scratches and bruises, but Naruto got caught by a fist of fire. It burned him pretty badly, but it has already started healing and I put my ointment on it before bandaging it." Explained Hinata.

"What happened to the jounin?" asked Kurenai.

"I killed, albeit it was a lucky attack! You should've seen Hinata! She was awesome! If it wasn't for her, we would be dead!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Congrats Hinata! You two did great, I'll wait for the full story when we reach the others." Said Kurenai as they began to walk back to the others, with Hinata still supporting Naruto.

"Hinata do you think you can not mention my Trench Knives? I don't want Sasuke to know about them unless he has to?" asked Naruto.

"Of course Naruto-kun. I don't even like Sasuke too much…he's too mean." She said as Naruto smiled.

"Thanks Hinata-chan! You are the best!" said Naruto as they entered the clearing where the others were.

"Well it looks like the Dobe had some trouble with his ninja." Stated Sasuke with a smirk as he saw Naruto's bandages.

"Yeah! I bet Sasuke didn't even have to sweat while he fought his opponent!" exclaimed Sakura as Sasuke smirked and Kiba rolled his eyes.

In fact it was through sheer luck that Sasuke landed that killing blow to the back of the man's neck. The man thought he could endure two Gatsuga's and not move an inch. It was during that point that Sasuke was able to pierce his neck with a kunai. Although they got the crap kicked out of them beforehand.

"Weren't you paying attention to what I told Kakashi-sensei? We barely won that match and it was through sheer luck that we won!" said Kiba as Sasuke glared at him.

"Well at least none of you got killed. How did you guys handle your opponent Shino?" asked Naruto.

"The girl was too brash and engaged Sakura in Taijutsu. She didn't notice any of my bugs crawl on her and begin to suck her chakra. After defeating Sakura her chakra was all but gone. She collapsed and I cut her throat." Said Shino in a monotone voice that made Sakura wince, but Naruto smiled sadly at him.

He saw Shino's eyebrows twitch and look at the dead body of the nin, indicating that he was upset about taking a life.

"Well how did Hinata and you do Naruto?" asked Kiba.

"It was tough! He was stronger, faster, and more experienced than us! Luckily he didn't take us seriously at first and we got some blows on him. Then he got serious and kicked our butts, Hinata distracted him while I got lucky with a finishing move. Hinata did awesome during the fight!" said Naruto.

"You forgot that you were fight against a B-Rank Jounin level ninja from Iwa, that goes by the name of Inferuno." Said Kakashi as he stood up.

This information caused everyone to look at Naruto and Hinata in surprise and anger. Kurenai was the only one who didn't look shocked as she found out from fighting that Immortal freak.

Sasuke was pissed…it was a no name loser who fought against a jounin and won. He also fought alongside that freak Hinata. 'What is it that gives him so much power? IT should be mine not his!' thought Sasuke as he glared at Naruto.

"Wow you two beat a jounin level ninja? That is amazing! We should get Team 10 around and celebrate something like that!" said Kiba as his dog was barking in excitement and Shino nodded in agreement.

"They got lucky! Didn't hear him? He said that he defeated him with a lucky attack! Shouted Sakura.

Kakashi could only shake his head at two of his students. He would've dropped them by now if it didn't stop Naruto from taking the Chuunin exams.

"Well seal up the bodies and get ready to move. We will leave for Konoha tomorrow morning." Said Kakashi as he turned around.

"Wait Kakashi-sensei! How did your battle go?" asked Naruto.

"_You're lucky Leader-Sama told me not to kill anyone! He just wants to test out that jinchuriki in your team! Next time we meet…you will die Pussy!" said the man as he retreated._

"Our opponent retreated after he found he could not win." Stated Kakashi as they all sealed up their bounties and left for their own campsite. Unaware of the one bandit that had escaped after witnessing Naruto and Hinata fighting.

The next day just after entering Konoha. "So Sensei, how do we turn in bounties?" asked Naruto.

"You have to have a chuunin level ninja or above turn it in for you. I can't help you today, as I have to report to the Hokage. You are all free to go for now." Said Kakashi as he and Kurenai ran to the Hokage's tower.

"Well Sasuke! I'm going to get my sister to turn this bounty in for us! Want to go?" asked Kiba.

"As long as I get credit for the kill." Stated Sasuke as he followed him.

"Umm you can just collect that girls bounty Shino…my parents have enough money as it is." Said Sakura as she didn't want to spend any more time with the Creepy Bug Boy. Shino nodded and left for his own home, leaving Naruto and Hinata alone.

"Well Iruka is in class so I don't know anyone who would do it for me. Do you know anyone Hinata?" asked Naruto hopefully.

"Well I could ask father." She said quietly.

"Well let's got to your house then and ask him!" said Naruto.

"Okay, but I'm not sure if he will." Said Hinata as she led the way with Naruto following her. She had a blush on her cheeks as she was alone with Naruto once more.

"I don't know why he wouldn't? I mean you just defeated a jounin level ninja as a gennin! What father wouldn't be proud of that?" asked Naruto as Hinata grew courage from his words.

They soon made it to the Hyuga compound and were let in by the guards after seeing Hinata. They made their way through the building until they reached a door to a small building.

"This is Father's study. You have to take your shoes off to enter Naruto." She told him as he did what he was instructed to. He knew that the Hyugas were a respected clan and it would be smart to act his best.

Hinata knocked on the door and waited for her father to say she could enter. After a few minutes they heard a person call for them to enter so enter they did.

Hiashi Hyuga was a proud man, who wouldn't be proud of being Head of one the most prestigious clans in Konoha. Not much was said to faze him, but when his eldest walked into the room with Konoha's jinchuriki. It actually surprised him.

They both sat on two mats in front of Hiashi's desk and waited for him to talk. Naruto was a little unnerved by the man's gaze and was a moments breath from making clones incase he was attacked.

Hiashi observed the two for a few minutes before he decided to talk. The boy was on alert and he could tell that he was preparing a jutsu just in case. His daughter was nervous like always, but she wasn't shying away or fidgeting like normal. 'Interesting.' Was the only thing he could think to say.

"Hinata! Explain to me why this boy and you are here to see me?" he questioned her as he gazed at her with his emotionless eyes.

"Father." This one word was enough to surprise Hiashi as he hadn't heard his daughter not stutter out his name in a long time.

"Naruto and I came to ask you if you would come with us to Konoha's Bounty Station so that the two of us can deposit proof of a kill we collected on our last C-Rank mission that was most likely bumped to being an A-Rank." Stated Hinata slowly and carefully as if she was afraid she would make a mistake.

"Why was this mission of yours bumped up to an A-Rank mission?" asked Hiashi.

"We encountered four missing nin alongside the bandit camp that we were sent to eliminate." Said Hinata.

"What were their ranks?" asked Hiashi as Naruto was starting to get nervous.

"There were two chuunin, and two jounin. Naruto and I were able to fight and kill as jounin by the name of Inferuno. He was a B-Rank missing nin from Iwa, and master of flame jutsu." Said Hinata as Naruto showed his bandages in conformation.

Hiashi's eyes widened a fraction, but the two gennin didn't miss this. He was surprised that they had defeated such a powerful jounin. His mouth twitched upwards in a small smile.

"Very well Hinata we will go to the Bounty Office this moment. You have brought pride to the Hyuga Family." He stated to the wide-eyed girl and the grinning Naruto.

Hinata was surprised she had never once been complimented by her father. It made her smile that she was finally starting to live up to the expectations of her father and it was all thanks to Naruto.

"I would like to hear the details of the battle while we are on our way." Said Hiashi as they left the building with Naruto giving an account of the battle minus the shadow manipulation.

The next day Naruto was training at Training Ground 7. He was using his weights while sticking rocks to his body with the leaf sticking exercise while dodging wind jutsu and kunai being thrown by his clones.

"Is that all you've got!" Yelled Naruto as he jumped into the middle of the clones and used too much chakra on the rocks attached to him. They all shot off and connected with every clones causing a massive smoke cloud.

Naruto smirked as he sat down by the Memorial Stone. He looked at all the names until he found the name of Minato Namikaze.

"Why did you choose me as the jinchuriki for the Kyubi?" Naruto asked himself out loud as he looked at the name.

'Did you know my parents and ask them to use me? There must have been a specific reason for using me? Was it because of the fact that I have blonde hair similar to yours? I'm your legacy, but I don't even know why you chose me. Why choose me from the four other kids born that day in the village?' thought Naruto as he began to run through all of the information he knew about the 4th Hokage.

He had blonde hair, he had one of the strongest wind affinities ever known, he was the strongest Hokage in the history of the village, he had enemies all over the world that would do anything to make sure he and his children were dead, and he never asked anyone to do something he wouldn't do himsel…

"No…." Naruto whispered as he finally made the connection that was staring him in the face. It all made sense, why there was no record of him being born. It was a cover up to protect his life from Minato's enemies.

Why Kakashi always called him the 4th's Legacy! It wasn't because of the Kyubi, but because he was the 4th's son.

Tears leaked from his eyes as he figured out the truth. 'I need to talk to someone! Anyone, I just need to talk to them!' he thought as he jumped from Training Ground 7 just as Sakura and Sasuke showed up.

"I wonder where that loser is going?" asked Sakura.

"Hn…" responded Sasuke, which made Sakura gush all about him being so cool.

Naruto landed on the 4th's head and looked at the village that his father sacrificed so much to save, including himself.

"Why did it have to be me?" he whispered to himself as he heard footsteps behind him.

"He had no other choice Naruto. It was either you or the village and sadly he had to choose the village. He loved you very much and cried when he made the decision to do this." Came the voice of Kakashi.

"It doesn't really matter Sensei. I'm still going to make him proud, but I can't help to think that everything is a lie." Said Naruto.

"The only reason you weren't told is due to the fact that we didn't believe you mature enough to know the truth. If you had known you would've told everyone and Iwa would've killed you by the end of the week." Said Kakashi as Naruto nodded.

"Who was my mother Kakashi-Sensei?" asked Naruto.

"Her name was Kushina Uzumaki. A deadly woman who could make any man piss themselves just by glaring at them. She was a great woman, but sadly she died giving birth to you Naruto. Now why don't you wipe those tears and let's go tell your team that we will be participating in the chuunin exams." Said Kakashi as he put his hand on a now smiling Naruto's shoulder.

"I will make them proud as their son Sensei." Stated Naruto right before they disappeared.

It was three days before the chuunin exam and Naruto was just walking through the streets of Konoha. He had been training hard all week sharpening his skills so that he would pass the exam. He had learned two new jutsu and had improved greatly with his Taijutsu and his knives.

As he turned a corner he spotted Hinata up ahead walking. Smirking slightly he creeped up behind the unaware girl and yelled. "Hey HINATA-CHAN!"

Hinata eeped and turned around and slapped whoever scared her and sent them flying into a wall. It was after a few seconds that she realized that she had just slapped Naruto.

"Naruto-Kun!" she shouted as she went over to the dazed boy.

"Ow! Remind me to never sneak up on you again Hinata-Chan." He laughed out as Hinata helped him to his feet.

"I'm so sorry Naruto-kun! I didn't mean to do that at all! You just surprised me!" she tried to apologize before Naruto just smiled at her.

"It's okay Hinata-Chan it is my fault for sneaking up on you." He laughed as Hinata smiled a bit.

"Hey you want to go on a walk with me Hinata? Since we haven't seen each other since that time we went to Akimichi's BBQ in celebration of our mission?" asked Naruto.

'He's asking me to go on a walk with him!' Hinata thought as her cheeks turned red, but she managed to nod and the two were off.

They talked about things like training, what they had been up too, their thoughts on the chuunin exams, and other meaningless things. That was until Naruto decided to turn around and yell at something.

"Konohamaru that is the worst disguise I have ever seen! Boxes have round sides, not corners!" yelled Naruto as the box exploded in a puff of smoke.

Out of the smoke came three kids doing a weird pose while introducing themselves as Moegi, Udon, and Konohamaru.

"Haha Boss I knew you would be able to see through my disguise! Just like what I expected from my rival!" yelled Konohamaru.

Hinata thought she heard Naruto whispering about never teaching again.

"Boss! Will you play Ninja with us?" asked Konohamaru.

"A ninja playing ninja? How pathetic are you Naruto?" asked Sakura as she turned the corner and walked in between Naruto and Hinata.

"Hey Boss! Who is this, is she your girlfriend?" Konohamaru asked Naruto.

"Hell no! Not in a thousand years!" yelled Naruto as Sakura looked at him in annoyance, while Hinata blushed a bit.

"Well that's good. If I were you I would hook up with the Hyuga girl! She isn't flat chested liked Pinky there." Said Konohamaru as Sakura looked like she was about to explode and Naruto and Hinata were both blushing.

"Umm Konohamaru…Run!" yelled Naruto as Sakura charged at the poor boy.

They followed him behind a corner and found Konohamaru being held up by a boy in a black suit. There was also a 15-year-old girl off to the side watching.

"Kankuro put the kid down. We don't have time to be playing games." She stated.

"Don't worry Temari, I'm just going to teach this kid a lesson for running into me." Said the boy as he raised his arm.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Stated Naruto as he drew his kunai. Hinata got into her own stance and Sakura just looked confused.

"Yeah? What are you going to do about it kid?" asked Kankuro as he raised his arm to strike the boy. That was when he felt the touch of steel at his throat.

"Stick around and I'll show you." Whispered Naruto's clone as it pressed the Kunai tighter against his neck, drawing a little blood.

Immediately Kankuro dropped the Konohamaru, as he scurried behind the original Naruto. The clone immediately let go and poofed out of existence.

"Dammit Kankuro I told you not to cause trouble!" shouted the blonde, but the boy paid little attention as he grabbed the pack that was on his back.

"This will only take a minute Temari! That was nothing, but luck right there!" shouted boy.

"Give it up! I could do that all day against someone like you! Besides the red head in the trees doesn't look to happy." Said Naruto as both Temari and Kankuro both looked deathly pale as they looked to the trees and spotted a red head in the tree..

He reappeared in between the two groups in a cloud of sand and glared at Kankuro.

"Enough Kankuro. You are pathetic." Said the red head with no emotion.

"G-Gaara th-they started it!" stuttered Kankuro out.

"Shut up or I will kill you." Said Gaara as Kankuro immediately shut up.

"Sasuke! Get out of the tree, you look stupid!" yelled Naruto as they all looked up to see Sasuke leaning against a tree while glaring at Naruto.

He jumped down and glared at Naruto. While Sakura had hearts in her eyes about how awesome Sasuke was being.

"Dobe, let me handle this. What are you doing here in Konoha?" he demanded in an arrogant tone.

"Duh! They are here for the chuunin exams that take place in three days! Come on Sasuke were taking the exams too!" said Naruto as Sasuke just looked like an ass.

"That is correct. Temari and Kankuro, Baki-Sensei wants to see us immediately." Said Gaara as Naruto and Hinata turned away.

"Wait! What is your name?" asked Gaara.

"Why would you care what his name is? He was the dead last at the academy, while I was the Rookie of the Year. My name is Sasuke Uchiha." Stated Sasuke arrogantly, while Naruto made gagging sounds to Hinata's amusement.

"Not you! The one with blonde hair!" ordered Gaara, as Naruto looked up and smiled at him.

"The names Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you Gaara." Said Naruto.

"Your strong…mother will enjoy spilling your blood." Stated Gaara with an insane smile, as he left with his brother and sister.

"What a nice young man!" exclaimed Naruto cheerfully as he turned around and walked away with Hinata. Meanwhile everyone was looking at him as if he was crazy.

As soon as they passed a corner Naruto looked at Hinata. "Promise me that if you have to fight him in the exams that you quit Hinata?" asked Naruto suddenly.

"Why? What's wrong Naruto?" asked in concern and surprise.

"Something about him gets my stomach upset. Stay away from him please Hinata?" asked Naruto as Hinata nodded, trusting his judgement.

"Good, lets finish this walk then!" said Naruto as he grabbed her hand and dragged her around, while talking about all the secret passages he knew.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all walking into the Ninja Academy. The exams were to be held on the third floor. So why were there 15 people trying to get into a classroom on the second floor?

Before he could do anything Sasuke walked up to and announced the trick to everyone there. "Seriously? Didn't you know that this must be like a test to weed out the groups not good enough to pass?" asked Naruto as the kids guarding the door charged their team.

However, a boy that Naruto had seen once or twice before while exercising intercepted the kick with no difficulty. 'He's faster than me without my weights.' Thought Naruto.

"It is not wise to do fighting in such a cramped area." Stated the boy. He had black hair cut like a bowl, huge eyebrows, and was wearing green spandex.

"Lee wasn't it your idea not to show our skills too early?" asked a girl who walked up. In Naruto's opinion she looked like a Panda.

Their last teammate was a Hyuga, but unlike Hinata his eyes weren't filled with kindness. His eyes were cold and held hints of hatred in them.

'He reminds me of Sasuke, but a much better check on his emotions.' Thought Naruto.

"Come on let's head to the 3rd floor, before we attract anymore attention." Said Naruto as they turned away from the other gennin and headed for another staircase.

However, they didn't get far before they were confronted by the black haired gennin with big eyebrows.

"Hey! Are you by any chance Sasuke Uchiha?" asked the gennin.

"Yes I am. Why do you want to know?" asked Sasuke.

"My name is Rock Lee and I want to challenge you to a friendly spar!" exclaimed the Rock Lee loudly.

"Sure, I don't have much better to do. However, you won't be beating me." He said as they entered a gym.

"Just like a regular genius. My dream is to defeat a genius of your caliber! I will prove that hard work is the greatest strength of a shinobi!" exclaimed Lee.

"Sasuke we don't have time for this. We need to be at our best for the exams or we could lose them." Said Naruto, but Sasuke just scoffed and stared at Lee.

"It won't take long for me to beat this loser." Said Sasuke as he slid into his stance.

'Fool! Lee is even faster than me! You have no chance against him!' thought Naruto as he got ready to intervene so no one got hurt.

Naruto's fears were no unfounded though as it didn't take long for Lee to break through Sasuke's defense. If the match had continued then Sasuke would've been too hurt to participate and everyone on Team 7 would've been forced to quit before they even started.

Luckily Gai had intervened before anyone was hurt. Although Naruto kinda wished that he hadn't as that illusion that the two spandex wearing ninja used had scared his fragile little mind more than any other amount of torture.

As they were leaving Naruto decided to confront Sasuke on what he had just done.

"Sasuke that was the stupidest thing I have ever seen! You are lucky that we are still allowed to participate. If you had been hurt, then I would've killed you myself." Said Naruto in all seriousness.

"Shut up Baka!" shouted Sakura, before she found a knife at her throat.

"Shut your harpy mouth Sakura!" he growled out to her.

"Hmph that kid got lucky. Next time he won't be." Said Sasuke arrogantly.

"Next time you are going to be dead Sasuke." Naruto growled out as he pushed by him up the stairs.

Sasuke resisted the urge that he had to plunge a kunai deep into his teammates back as they walked up the stairs. 'No, Naruto is needed for now, at least until I make chuunin. After that I will stage his death, no need for weaklings in my village.' Thought Sasuke as they made it to the room.

Outside Kakashi was waiting for them to show up.

"So I see that you decided to take the exams. Be wary, people die on these exams when they underestimate opponents. Do not make that mistake and you will all do fine." Stated their Sensei before he was gone in a puff of smoke.

As they entered they were confronted by the glares of many different gennin from different villages. Overall they put on a pretty menacing appearance. Although Naruto just wanted to laugh in all of their faces.

"Hey looks like Team 7 is also taking the exams!" came the voice of Kiba.

"Duh! I told you that four days ago!" replied Naruto as he shook Kiba's hand.

"Well some of us tend to forget things that aren't important." Replied Kiba.

"Yeah sure! Hey Hinata-Chan! Did you learn that new technique you have been working on in the past three days?" asked Naruto as Hinata smiled at him and slowly shook her head.

"No Naruto-Kun, but I am coming very close to finishing it." She said with a smile.

"That's good! I'm sure you will do it Hinata-Chan!" said Naruto, before they were interrupted.

"Troublesome, it seems that all the rookie teams are taking the exam this year." Stated Shikamaru as he walked up with Chouji and Ino following them.

"Hey Ino-Pig, what's with the face? Mad that I'm on the team with Sasuke-Kun on it?" taunted Sakura.

"No, I'm just not too sure about taking the exams." She answered.

"Ha, well I got Sasuke-Kun on my team to protect me from being hurt!" said Sakura.

"I really want a new team." Said Naruto as he grabbed both Chouji and Shino.

"What do you say boys? Team 20, the Massive Bug Fox team?" asked Naruto to the two guys, who just looked at him like he was stupid.

"Fine! I just can't take these two anymore!" said Naruto as most of the Rookies, beside Sasuke and Sakura smiled at him.

"You should all learn to be quiet." Stated a voice from behind the group.

They turned around and were faced with a white haired gennin that was wearing glasses. He looked friendly enough, but looks could be deceiving.

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura.

"It means that we are attracting too much attention and should learn to be quiet." Said Naruto as they looked at all gennin glaring at him.

"Well anyway I have a lot of information on these exams. You see I have taken them 6 times now and have gathered a lot of information on gennin. If you want I can give you some information on some of the gennin in the room." Said the gennin.

"First off we don't even know who you are. Second, how do we know that your information is reliable?" asked Naruto as the others nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry, my name is Kabuto Yakushi and well my information isn't totally reliable as it comes from these cards that I use to gather information on. It comes from the Bingo Books, observation, chakra sources, and Fan Clubs." Said Kabuto to the rookies confusion.

"What?" asked Naruto.

"Well you see fangirls stalk their interests and learn everything they can about them. That is why the information is more reliable than usual." Said Kabuto.

"I guess that does make sense." Stated Naruto as the others nodded in agreement.

"So do any of you have any specific gennin that you want to know about?" asked Kabuto.

"You have gennin from each village right?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes I do, from Konoha to the new Oto village. They are fairly new and probably don't have that many strong ninja yet." Explained Kabuto as the Oto gennin glared at the boy.

"I want information on Gaara of the Desert, Rock Lee, and Naruto Uzumaki." Demanded Sasuke as the others beside Naruto looked shocked.

"Ahh you know their names!" whined Kabuto as he drew a card from the deck and channeled chakra into the card.

"Gaara of the Sand? Hmm…it says his taijutsu and genjutsu scores are low. Ninjutsu says that he has control of sand similar to that of the Third Kazekage. He has completed 24 D-Rank, 13 C-Rank, and 4 B-Rank missions. He has also never been injured on any of his missions!" stated Kabuto to everyone's surprise, including Naruto's.

'He has never been injured in a fight? I'm going to have to go all out if I want to fight someone at his level.' Thought Naruto as he glanced at the red head.

"Rock Lee has absolutely on ninjutsu or genjutsu on his records. However, his taijutsu is off the charts for any gennin. He has completed 59 D-Rank Missions, 28 C-Rank, and 2 B-Rank." Said Kabuto.

'That didn't help me at all!' thought Sasuke angrily.

"Now Naruto Uzumaki, also known as the 'Shadow of Konoha' according to the Bingo Books." Started Kabuto.

"What I'm in the Bingo Books?" asked Naruto.

"Why is he called the 'Shadow of Konoha'? asked Shikamaru as he looked at a nervous Naruto.

Sasuke himself was extremely pissed that Naruto was in the Bingo Books and he wasn't.

"Well it says that he was witnessed causing the death of a B-Rank missing Nin by the name of Inferuno. The abilities that were witnessed in the fight were shadow based and similar to a Nara's, but different in their own ways." Explained Kabuto.

'So he can use Shadows, but his techniques differ from my clan's. I'm going to have to ask my father about this.' Thought Shikamaru.

"He is wanted alive in the village of Iwagakure for questioning. It is unknown why he is wanted for questioning. His taijutsu skills are mid chuunin, ninjutsu is mid to high chuunin, and genjutsu is none existent. He has completed 23 D-Rank missions and two A-Rank missions." Stated Kabuto as the others looked at Naruto in awe.

Just then three blurs entered their vision. Kabuto ducked under a punch and smirked at the three ninja that had come after them. Just then his glasses snapped in half and he bent over and puked.

"Put this in your cards! The team from Oto is going to win this exam!" declared the obvious leader.

Just then a kunai landed in between them. "There will be no fighting during the exams unless told otherwise. Now sit down in a seat. Welcome to the Chuunin exams!" stated a ninja as other's started to poof into the rooms.

So the chuunin exams have started!

Well there you go I have already put out the second chapter of my story. I would like to thank all of you for the reviews that I have received this week. The next chapter will lead up to the invasion I believe and I hope that you all have enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Remember I do take all of your reviews seriously and I do use some of your suggestions.

BTW if any of you play PS3, my name is also ICHeart. Add me! I've been playing BF3 quite a bit for the past month.

Seeya till next time!


	3. Let The Games Begin

HIYA GENTLEMEN AND LADIES lol switched it around! Haha that was completely useless.

Thanks for all the reviews! If you are the one who added me on PSN…you know who you are, I will have a cameo later in the story for you.

Choose the name and description for that character and he will do something important in the story. Like save Naruto or lead a squad to kill a bunch of demons. Something like that!

Okay this chapter may have takin some time to write due to it being Finals week here in college. I can't believe I have already finished a semester.

Anyways I have no idea how much time I will be able to dedicate to writing this story over break as I will be filming a movie with my friends, hanging with my girlfriend, and video games. However, I will at least put out two chapters during break.

Now I am hoping to have my chuunin exams to be completely unique to my fiction. I have never seen what I am about to attempt before in my readings of Fanfiction. However, I may just end up failing at it and all of you will be hating the story.

So please after this chapter let me know how original and enjoyable it is going to be!

Next I would like to put out that in this chapter Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura will settle their differences at first. However, Sasuke will have to get the curse seal…now as you may know that will make him an arrogant prick.

However, Naruto will work to bring him back for the right reasons and not just to make Sakura happy. I am doing this because I do NOT believe he is a bad guy in the magna. I believe he will be good at the end and help Naruto.

"_**Cause some things are worth fighting for." **_James Raynor, before moving on the last Zerg Hive Cluster in an attempt to save Kerrigan.

Now onto my story!

"I am the proctor for the first exams, the name is Ibiki Morino. The first part will be a written test on skills that are important for a ninja to know. There are only 10 questions. Each person gets 10 points off the beginning." Started the proctor.

'Damn a written test!' thought Naruto as he still wasn't good at tests.

'This is going to be too easy! Cha!' thought Sakura.

Thoughts similar to these two rang through the room.

"For each question you get wrong you will lose a point. If you lose three points you will fail the test and your team will also fail." Stated the proctor.

"WHAT! Why is it that the whole team fails if one person fails?" asked an Iwa shinobi.

"Because ninja teams are teams and you cannot proceed unless you have a full team. Now there will be no cheating. Each time you are caught cheating you will lose a point." Stated Ibiki.

'Strange…why would he tell us that cheating is prohibited as long as we don't get caught three times? Unless he is expecting us to cheat. Well played you trench coat wearing troll.' Thought Naruto as he smirked at the proctor.

'What is that gaki smirking at?' thought the proctor as he scanned the nervous gennin.

"When you are done, we will ask you all the tenth question. Once you have the test you may begin!" barked the trollish looking man.

Naruto got his test and immediately knew that cheating would be the only option. Only problem is that he didn't know any information gathering techniques that could be used in this situation.

'Well he did say that you could only lose points by answering incorrectly.' Thought Naruto as he sat back.

In the corner of his eye he could see Hinata taking glances at him in concern. 'She must be worried about me. I mean she is the only one that knows almost all of my secrets.' So Naruto just smiled at her, letting her know that he was fine.

Sakura was already half done with her test and had time to actually think. 'These gennin look so much tougher than me. They look at me like I'm nothing, but a piece of meat. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for Sasuke and Naruto.' She though as she looked at Sasuke and noticed he had his Sharingan activated.

'So he is cheating? I thought that we would get kicked out if we were caught three tim…of course we are supposed to cheat! What about Naruto though? I know he's strong, but does he have a technique to cheat effectively?' thought Sakura in concern.

She had been thinking for the past few days and had finally come to realize that she needed to get stronger. If not for herself, then for Sasuke and Naruto. It wasn't' too hard to tell that Naruto was just as strong as Sasuke, but she thought that she could get closer to Sasuke by supporting him.

Since that didn't seem to work, she would go to plan B. Plan B was to train and get just as strong as her teammates after the exam. 'Sensei will help me, I'm sure of it!' thought Sakura as she finished her test.

'The Dobe better not fail for us! I know for a fact that he still isn't as good a information gathering as me. He may be stronger now, but I'm still got my strong areas.' Thought Sasuke.

'You know what! I will get all of these questions right just to show how awesome I am!' thought Naruto as he began to think of a plan.

'Hm if only I had enough time to concentrate on making my shadows. However, everyone would see me if I use a handsign. I have to create a distraction. That's it!' thought Naruto as he began to focus is mind on a task.

Two minutes went by before his plan came to fruition as a large cloud of smoke appeared in the room covering everyone's eyes. In that moment Naruto made his modified handsign and created a shadow of himself to sink amongst the room and copy other peoples tests.

Before the smoke cloud lifted he dispersed the clones again causing yet another smokescreen. He had already found Sakura with his shadow and was looking at the test.

'Dang that woman is smart as hell. Too bad she doesn't do anything-physical cause she would be pretty good. Well now nothing left to do before the test is over…or maybe I can screw with some competitors using my shadow?' thought Naruto as a devilish grin covered his face.

'What is that kid/Naruto/gaki smiling about?' asked a number of proctors, Ibiki, students, and friends were thinking when they saw that grin.

Suddenly a series of totally random events started to happen across the room. Chairs were tipped, papers were thrown, and pencils were broken.

A number of the more observant Shinobi, or ones with a dojutsu could see a blotch of chakra racing along the floor. The ones with the Byakugan were even more surprised seeing that it had it's own chakra network.

'How can something like that have a chakra network?' asked Neji as he followed it with his eyes.

Shikamaru himself had seen the black mass move stealthily across the floor and immediately started figuring out what it could be. 'It could be an enemy ninja or a technique that makes something invisible. Although it seems like a shadow is just moving across the floor like my clan's jutsu.'

He looked behind him and saw a smirking Naruto just eying the chaos with a sparkle in his blue eyes. 'So this must be one of those shadow techniques he has. It is both similar and different from my own. Whatever…it is too troublesome to think about.'

It didn't take long for teams to get kicked out of the exam. Many of them were new gennin just doing it cause their teammates thought they were cool. Ibiki watched in concern of the large group. There were three things that seemed strange to him about this year's exams.

One there were two foreign jinchuriki in the room if intelligence was anything to go by. Second, it seemed that there were at least 25 extra teams than usual in the exam this year. Third, he was sure that he recognized 1 or 2 shinobi from Kumo, but he wasn't sure.

If my guesses are right we will have more in the second exam than ever before. I feel bad for those rookies if they make it past me.

Twenty more minutes of failed tests and small pranks by a certain blonde brought about the tenth and final question.

"Put your pencils down it is time for the tenth and final question of the test! It will be asked orally and does not require either pencil or paper. Now you have two choices on this part." Stated Ibiki, pausing to create dramatic effect he finished.

"You can either choose to quit the exam now or you can choose to take the question." Started Ibiki before he was interrupted.

"Well that is stupid! Of course we are going to take the next question!" shouted Kiba from the back.

"However," Spoke Ibiki as if he wasn't interrupted. "If you get the question wrong you will fail the test and never have the option to become a chuunin ever again!" finished Ibiki as he smirked at the faces of the surprised gennin.

"What!" shouted about 70% of the gennin in the room while the others seemed to be thinking about what he said or were too scared to talk.

"How can you do that! There are people here who have failed the test before and are taking it again!" shouted a Iwa gennin.

"Well they never had me before, my test...my rules." Stated Ibiki as the Iwa gennin looked devastated.

"Now if any of you are going to back out, raise your hands and your team and you will be escorted out." Stated Ibiki as immediately three hands shot into the air.

Soon teams were leaving in mass while many of those that remained looked like they were about to panic.

Naruto sat back analyzing everyone in the room. He could tell the man was lying by the way he talked. Besides he would still become the Hokage even if he were a gennin. Rank did not actually show the level of ones strength.

'It seems like Sakura and Sasuke are determined to move on. Maybe there is hope for the two of them in the future.' Thought Naruto as he looked around again and saw Hinata fidgeting.

'Dang! Hinata is probably worrying about Shino and Kiba to see through his lies! I have to do something before it is too late!' thought Naruto as he saw Hinata begin to raise her hand.

Hinata was scared. She wasn't scared for herself, but her two teammates. What if she got the question wrong and they were sent back because of her. She couldn't face the shame of failing them.

'I'm sorry.' She thought before she began to raise her hand.

Just then a loud bang alerted the room to Naruto's presence. "I won't ever quit! Not until I'm dead will I ever quit in my dreams. I don't care if I am a gennin forever as rank doesn't measure someone's strength. It is just a term, let actions justify one's self! So go ahead give me the second question, cause I will pass it just like everything else in my way!" shouted Naruto in a determined voice.

At this everyone in the room drew courage from Naruto in his act of courage. Anyone who was close to quitting now had determined faces on them. Naruto was staring at him with a small smile and a blush on her face.

'Damn kid wiped all of the doubt out of them. Dang, Anko is never going to let me hear the end of this.' Thought Ibiki as he glared at the gennin.

"Is there anyone else who is going to quit?" asked Ibiki, but the resolve in their faces told him that they were all ready.

"Well then for all of you that decided to stay…congrats on passing the first part of the chuunin exams!" declared Ibiki as he smirked at the surprised faces of the gennin.

"What about the tenth question?" asked a Kumo ninja.

"There was no tenth question, in the ninja world you will have to make decisions that are life and death. If you are not willing to put your life on the line then there is no way for you to be a chuunin." Explained Ibiki.

"There will be times that you are asked to gain information. If you are caught you will be expected not to give up any of your villages secrets, I am a living example of this!" stated Ibiki as he removed his bandana to show the cuts on his head.

"Soon the proctor for the secon…" started the man before the windows of the building blew up and a round ball flew into the room before exploding.

A banner popped up saying 'WELCOME' and a girl wearing a very revealing outfit was standing in the middle.

"Alright you maggots, my name is Anko Mitrashi and I am the proctor of the second exam! Wait, you left 36 teams pass this year Ibiki! You must be losing your touch!" exclaimed the slightly crazy proctor.

"Maybe the contestants this year are just better than most." Suggested Ibiki as he glanced at Naruto.

"Well brats congrats on making it this far, but it all changes. Follow me and I will take you to the location of the next exams." Stated Anko as the gennin didn't move that much.

Slowly they followed her through the village, along the way they could talk to each other and discuss plans.

Hinata was slowly following her team thinking about how she had nearly ruined it for them. 'I shouldv'e known it was a trick. If it wasn't for Naruto-kun I would've given up.'

"Hinata!" she eeped as Naruto appeared on her side.

"Naruto-Kun! Why aren't you with your team?" asked Hinata quickly

"Well I wanted to talk to you Hinata. If that is okay, I wanted to make sure that you were okay." Stated Naruto as he smiled at her, causing her to blush.

"I'm okay, its just I was so afraid of failing my teammates. I would gradly risk my life, but I could never risk their lives for my own reasons." Said Hinata.

"I know you will Hinata, and that is why I couldn't let you do that to yourself. You are one of the most important people in my life. Hopefully you won't have to make such a decision." Said Naruto oblivious to the blush on Hinata's face.

"You are one of the most important people in my life too Naruto." Said Hinata softly, she too was oblivious to Naruto's new blush.

"If we have to fight in the next exams Hinata. I want you to know that you can always ask me for help." Said Naruto.

"Thank you Naruto, hopefully we won't have to worry about that Naruto." Smiled Hinata.

Unknown to the two of them they were being stared at by a team of Kumo ninja.

"So the mission is to kill the container for the Ichibi and kidnap a Hyuga then?" asked a tanned man.

"Yes the Raikage has requested him to be killed due to him killing three teams of gennin three months ago. The Hyuga we will worry about after we have killed him. I was given a seal that will transport her to a team outside Konoha." Said a teenage girl with blonde hair.

"That boy she is talking about looks familiar." Stated a blonde teenager.

"He kinda does, however do not dive too deep into it. Our missions are to kill Gaara of the Desert and capture the Hyuga Heir." Said the blonde girl.

"Why do we need the help of the other three gennin teams? The three of us are chuunin. Won't the gennin just get in the way?" asked the blonde teenager.

"We were ordered to have them assist us on the mission. They will be around just in case any other teams decide to interrupt our mission." Explained the girl.

"Okay I understand Yugito." Said the blonde as they stopped talking and followed the

"Sasuke what do you think Naruto and Hinata are talking about?" asked Sakura.

Hn…I have no idea." Said Sasuke as if he had nothing more to say on the matter. However, he did not stop. "Sakura…is Naruto stronger than me?" asked Sasuke.

Sakura hesitated for a second before answering Sasuke. "Well you are Sasuke, you are after all the Rookie of the Year. I know Naruto is stronger now, but he is still the same Dobe as before." Said Sakura.

"I don't know what to think anymore? He is stronger than me now…I've always wanted to be strong to kill that man, but now I'm not sure what to think anymore. I will ask him for help, if he gives it to me then that will be the end of it." Said Sasuke as he walked up to the group in front of Anko.

"Okay maggots this here is the Forest of Death." She said gesturing to the wall behind her that had signs warning people from entering.

"Here you will be taking the second exams. For the next five days your teams will be competing for a scroll that one of the opposing teams will have. Each team will receive either a heaven or earth scroll. The goal is to achieve one of each scroll." Said Anko.

"What happens if we open one of the scrolls?" a gennin asked.

"That is strongly advised against, but if you want you can at your own risk." Stated Anko.

"So this is the Forest of Death? Doesn't look too bad." Stated Naruto, however he was interrupted from proceeding by a kunai that scratched his cheek.

"The brave ones are the first to die Gaki." Said Anko as he appeared behind Naruto with a Kunai at his neck.

However to her surprise Naruto exploded in a cloud of smoke. "I guess you are right proctor." Said Naruto as he handed her the kunai she had just thrown at him.

"Not bad Gaki, but if you ever sneak up on me again I will kill you." She threatened as Naruto just smiled.

"Okay brats I want one person from each team to come up and grab a scroll at the front! Then we will have a thirty minute rest before the second exams.

"Wait! What are we supposed to do about food?" asked Chouji.

"You're a ninja, just hunt something down!" replied Anko.

Thirty minutes later all of the teams were ready. Each and everyone of them had a reason for being there. Some were there to prove themselves, test themselves, pride, or orders. Yet everyone of them would be unprepared for the horrors of the forest.

With a quick whistle across the fields teams raced into the forest. Surprisingly Sasuke had given leadership to Naruto for the exams. A mile into the forest Naruto decided to stop them.

"Why did we stop?" asked Sasuke as Sakura nodded in agreement.

"We need to discuss a strategy now that we are in here. We can either go to the tower and ambush other teams, or we can try to hunt a weaker team down." Stated Naruto.

"I say we try to find another team, that way the competition has a better chance at being weaker." Said Sasuke.

"Okay that sounds good, now we have to deal with a certain mole in the trees." Said Naruto as Sasuke nodded and Sakura looked confused.

'Crap, did they notice me?' thought a shinobi in a yellow jumpsuit. He was right as he had to jump down to avoid a cluster of kunai thrown at him.

"So you kids were able to notice me huh? Doesn't matter…hand over your scrolls and I will let you all go." Said the shinobi as Naruto started to laugh.

"You think you can take us? Sasuke here alone is chuunin level, Sakura is mid gennin, while I am also chuunin level. Now I say you run before we are forced to kill you." Stated Naruto as they all pulled kunai out.

"You will mistake that." Said the shinobi as he threw three shuriken at them.

"Doubt it." Stated Sasuke from behind the masked shinobi.

His eyes widened as he was kicked in the back across the clearing.

"You can't even follow me with your eyes. Surrender or we will kill you." Stated Sasuke.

"Never!" said the nin as he started to make handsigns.

However he was forced to stop as his body was unresponsive. "Ehh I guess I can do some of Shikamaru's moves." Stated Naruto as he held a handsign. At the feet of the nin his shadow had connected with Naruto's.

"Dobe, what is that?" asked Sasuke in mild confusion and shock.

"Well it turns out Sasuke that I have an affinity for shadow jutsu like a Nara, but my chakra is much more dense. This enables better control with the shadow, but at a massive chakra drain." Said Naruto.

"I thought you were an orphan like me." Said Sasuke.

"I am an orphan, my jutsu are just similar. My affinity allows me to do things that no Nara can do. (Think of it like this, with out the blades he wastes twice as much chakra, with the blades it is near perfect control. Overtime Naruto will seek to control it better.)" explained Naruto.

"Damn you! Let me go!" said the rain nin.

"No, now do you have your scroll?" asked Naruto.

"You think I would be stupid enough to leave my team with the scroll?" said the nin.

"Good point…Sasuke kill him." Said Naruto as Sasuke smiled and slit the nin's neck to Sakura's horror.

"How can the two of you just kill like that?" asked Sakura in shock.

"Easily, despite Sasuke and me hating each other. We know what it takes to survive in the ninja world. Unlike you Sakura, not once have you ever tried to get stronger. You aren't mid gennin level like I told that nin. You are perhaps high academy level, if you do not wise up soon you will die. Enough said." Said Naruto as Sakura was ready to cry.

"I do not hate you." Said Sasuke softly.

"What?" asked Naruto in confusion. Did Sasuke just say that he didn't hate him.

"I said, that I do not hate you. I am jealous of you!" shouted Sasuke at the end.

"Why would you be jealous of me Sasuke?" asked Naruto softly as he had never seen this part of Sasuke.

"Everyone likes you! You are getting stronger and stronger when I am staying at the same level!" shouted Sasuke as Naruto just blinked.

"You think everyone likes me Sasuke? How could you say that when you have 70% of the council kissing the ground you walk on. 90% of the village would love for you just to talk to them and you are prodigy. If anyone should be jealous it should be me!" said Naruto, as Sasuke was about to retort Naruto continued.

"I am hated by most of the village for something that I had no control over. It wasn't until this year that I began to get stronger and that was to protect you two and the ones that are precious to me. I wasn't taught at an early age like you were and I don't know what it is like to lose my family, but that is because I never had one. They both died on the day I was born." Said Naruto.

Sasuke was looking at his teammate in shock. Who could've known that his life was just as hard if not harder than his own? Maybe there is another path?

"I know about your brother Sasuke. What he did that night to you and all of the Uchiha. After I found out I was planning on being your friend, but you shut everyone off from you. If you can let go of your hatred for one second maybe you can see that you are not alone in you quest for vengeance. You have the entire village behind you to kill him." Said Naruto.

"I can't! It has to be me who kills him for the Uchiha!" shouted Sasuke as a war raged in his head about what he was going to do.

"Why does it have to be you? If you would just ask for help, your chances would increase greatly!" explained Naruto as Sasuke just looked conflicted.

"Why are you helping me now?" asked Sasuke after he had finally calmed down.

"Because I don't want someone so similar to me to fall into darkness like I nearly did. Revenge can lead to many things and happiness is not one of them. You will fall into the void and never escape." Stated Naruto.

"I don't know Naruto…I don't know what to think right now." Answered Sasuke.

"You don't have to decide for now. For now let's put the past behind us and look to the future." Said Naruto as he extended his hand to Sasuke.

"Deal." Said Sasuke as he smirked and shook his hand.

(Yes I have now decided to make Sasuke good as I have thought of something new in the story. I will be leaving clues in the context to point to where Naruto's shadow powers come from. It does not come from an anime, but a videogame that kicks butt!)

"Now let's go find us a scroll!" said Naruto as they jumped into the forest. Sasuke had a smile on his face, while Sakura was little saddened, but determined.

"Damn that Monkey!" thought a pissed off Orochimaru as he dodged a few shuriken being launched at him.

You see Orochimaru had tried to infiltrate the exams, but had failed due to a lucky patrol spotting him. Now he was running from a team of 6 ANBU with orders to finally kill him.

'I may not be able to mark the Uchiha today, but when I finally invade he will be mine and so will his Sharingan.' Thought Orochimaru as he ran past the walls of Konoha.

Hinata was downright scared at the moment. Her team had just witnessed the Sand Team, more specifically the one Naruto warned her about just brutally.

"We need to leave before they notice us." Stated Kiba as Shino nodded in agreement.

"Let's get going." Said Hinata however they soon froze when they saw Gaara looking in their direction.

"Mother is not satisfied. Maybe she will be after I take their blood?" said Gaara as his teammates looked at him and shocked and looked at Team 8.

Team 8 jumped out knowing that their presence was detected. After seeing his attacks they knew there only chance was to escape.

"You were the one with the blonde?" asked Gaara as his siblings also remembered meeting her.

"Yes I was." Stated Hinata defiantly as her teammates looked at her in surprise. "Naruto told me to avoid you." She stated.

"It's too bad you didn't heed his warning." Stated Gaara as his sand swirled around him.

"Well will you look at this? Both of our targets have found each other. This will be easier than I thought." Said a voice from above them.

Both the Sand Team and Team 8 looked to the tree's to find themselves surrounded by four Kumo teams.

"What the hell is this?" yelled Kankuro as he now had his puppet out and Temari had her war fan out.

"What does Kumo want with us?" asked Kiba.

"Oh this here is nothing. We were just running through the trees and happened to stumble upon the Jinchuriki of One tailed demon and an unsealed Hyuga girl. Then I remembered that we had a mission to kill the person responsible for killing my cousin and kidnapping said Hyuga." Said a blonde haired girl who was obviously the leader.

Seeing as how they were outnumbered Team 8, Kankuro, and Temari got close to each other. Gaara didn't care for the others and he summoned a massive amount of sand.

"It doesn't matter, mother will taste all of your blood!" yelled Gaara as sand shot at the girl.

However, the sand didn't reach her as a ball of blue fire hit the sand causing it to fall to the ground.

"Please that sand of yours can't stand against the power of the Two Tailed Demon! Darui, take the puppet user! Omoi take the one with the fan. You three teams kill the two males. Leave the Hyuga alive for transportation back to Kumo." Stated the leader as the three gennin teams grinned in anticipation.

"Hinata! We can hold them off for a few minutes, but you have to run!" said Kiba as Shino nodded in agreement.

"I won't leave you two here! I'm staying with you!" replied Hinata as she activated her Byakugan.

"That is illogical Hinata, death is a better ending then what they will do to you." Said Shino.

"I refuse to leave you two behind. I cannot just let you two sacrifice yourselves." Replied Hinata as she now got into her stance.

"If that is what you wish Hinata." Said Shino as cloud of bugs exited his body.

"Yeah, we can do this!" shouted Kiba as he immediately turned Akamaru into a clone of himself.

"You can try!" yelled one of the Kumo gennin as he went through a few hand signs.

"Katon: Burning Web!" he shouted as he breathed a small flame in front of where he stood.

Immediately the flame split off into three directions and after so many feet it would split into three lines. Creating a web of flames off the ground that was a 6 inches tall.

Team 8 jumped back, but were now separated from each other and could not use their team work skills.

It was now one team vs. a single gennin and the odds did not look good for Team 8 or the Sand team now that Gaara was fighting someone at his level.

Naruto ran at the head of Team 7 scanning for any trouble. His shadow clones did the most work as they were henged as animals, looking for anyone.

He knew it was only a matter of time before they reached the tower with a scroll, but he had an uneasy feeling for the past two minutes. It was as if there was something was wrong and he needed to act.

However, he couldn't focus on what he felt. It was as if he was disconnected from his own senses. 'This is ridiculous! All of my senses are as perfect as could be, it must be something different, but what?'

It was then at that moment that he felt the seal on his wrist burn for a brief second. He immediately stopped with Sasuke and Sakura stopping too and looking at him curiously.

"What's wrong?" asked Sasuke as he had a kunai out in case of trouble.

"My wrist is burning…" said Naruto to the confused looks his teammates were giving him.

"That is why we stopped?" asked Sasuke as he was a little ticked to have stopped for such a stupid reason.

"Just trust me on this one Sasuke." Said Naruto as he made a seal and a poof of smoke covered his hand.

Now in his hands were his two black crescent blade trench knives. Sasuke and Sakura both looked at the knives in wonder as they had never seen Naruto with them before.

"What are those?" asked Sasuke as Sakura looked at Naruto in agreement of Sasuke's question.

"These are my Shadow Blades Sasuke. They allow me greater control over my shadow chakra when I use them. Now be quiet and let me think for a second." Said Naruto as he closed his eyes.

'What is this feeling I'm getting from these! I feel fear, terror, weakness, and yet determination. Someone is fighting for their lives right now, but who?' thought Naruto as he focused as much as he could on the feeling.

Slowly an image forged itself in his mind. It was blurry at first, but the more he focused on it the clearer it got until he could make out what the picture was. To his surprise and horror it was of Shino, Kiba, and Hinata fighting a group of ninja.

Shino and Kiba looked like they had a few injuries and were being cut off from Hinata. Hinata herself looked like she was exhausted and couldn't keep up much longer.

There was one Kumo ninja on the ground dead or just knocked out. He couldn't tell, but what he could tell was that the fight wouldn't last much longer unless they got some help.

Just then a kunai whizzed past Hinata's defenses and struck her in the knee causing her to go down. Naruto watched how Hinata cried out in pain and how the Kumo ninja smiled victoriously.

"HINATA!" screamed Naruto as he exited this vision. Quickly turning in the direction he believed she was he dashed off to save her.

Sasuke and Sakura were both startled, but had no choice but to follow. It was at this time that they realized that Naruto was fast.

"What was that all about?" asked Sakura as she struggled to stay in sensing range of Naruto.

"The hell if I know! I didn't even know he could use trench knives like that." Said Sasuke as he followed Sakura as he didn't have any sensing abilities.

Hinata was trouble, and that was the only thing that was running through Naruto's mind as he sprinted through the woods.

"I will not fail you Hinata! You are my best friend, I swear that I will make them pay for ever hurting you." Whispered Naruto as he created Ten clones.

Hinata could barely stand as 5 Kumo gennin surrounded her. Shino and Kiba were both being stalled by the third team that was attacking them.

Gaara and Yugito were duking it out and causing devastation in the area they were fighting. Kankuro and Temari were fighting a stalemate with their opponents so she was all alone.

"Just surrender already and we will let your teammates go." Said the leader of the two teams attacking her.

He had jet black hair and could use lighting jutsu effectively. This had two affects while fighting her. One it could keep her at a distance by launching bolts of lighting at her and it made fighting him up close just as dangerous.

From what she could tell he was high chuunin level, two of them were low chuunin and the other two were gennin level. Luckily she had scored a fatal blow to an overconfident gennin who thought fighting her in taijutsu would work.

"I'm not giving up." Hinata stated with all the courage she could muster.

She was running on fumes and favoring her right leg as her left was stabbed by a kunai. The only way she was getting out of this was if help arrived.

"I was hoping you would say that princess." Said the chuunin level gennin. Electricity gathered in his palms as he prepared a jutsu.

Hinata got focused on him as he brought his hands into the sky. That would be her down fall as the four other gennin threw kunai in a circle around her.

"Raton: Screaming Prison!" shouted the nin as he shot a bolt of lightning at one of the kunai. The bolt arced between each kunai creating a crisscross pattern with Hinata in the middle.

True to the name of the justu Hinata screamed in pain as lightning circulated through her body. She couldn't move, think, or speak as the pain was unbearable.

The only thing she could see was the sick twisted grin the gennin had while he continued to feed chakra into the technique.

"I hope you like this technique. It is meant to trap and incapacitate people for a given amount of time. Soon you won't be able to move or scream, but you will be able to feel everything that happens to you." He said as Hinata collapsed to the ground, unable to stand or scream any more.

The kumo ninja finally disabled the jutsu and walked over to the semi paralyzed Hinata.

"It's a good thing too as I'd like for you to feel everything that I do to you while my teammates take care of everyone else." He said as Hinata watched him in horror as he grabbed her hair and lifted her to his eye level.

"After all the Raikage only wants you alive. He never said we couldn't do things ourselves to such a pretty girl like yourself." He said with a sick smile.

"Hinata!" yelled Kiba as he rushed past his opponent.

He didn't make it far as another Kumo ninja intercepted him and kicked him into a tree right next to an unconscious Akamaru.

Shino joined his teammate and again they rushed towards Hinata. Shino's bugs flew out and blocked a kick by the same Kumo nin, and Kiba launched forward.

However, just before his fist made contact, with the nin who was holding Hinata, a bolt of lightning hit him in the chest.

"AHHH!" screamed Kiba as he was shot back into a surprised Shino.

Together the two landed in a heap and struggled to get to their feet. Just then a barrier of lighting flew up around them, trapping them.

"That barrier will keep you two busy. Why don't you just sit back and enjoy the show. After Kuroi has his way with her, everyone else will get a go. That is unless Yugito-sama finishes early with that sand brat." Said the Nin who was holding up the barrier.

"Shino are your bugs draining this barrier?" whispered Kiba as soon as the nin turned.

"Yes, but it will take a little time for them to do so." He said sadly.

"By that time…" said Kiba sadly as he looked down.

"Yes…" replied Shino as a tear slid down below his sunglasses as he too looked away.

Hinata could only watch in horror as the Kumo nin pulled his pants down along with his underwear. She tried to close her eyes, but they didn't respond. The only thing she could do was cry as he ripped off what remained of her sweatshirt.

She looked down as her tight shirt was revealed beneath. She would not look into the eyes of this sick monster.

"Didn't know such a small girl like you could hide such things in a sweatshirt. This will be much more enjoyable…for me that i…" said the nin before he fell silent.

The next thing she heard was the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.

"Kuroi!" she heard one of the Kumo nin scream.

She opened her eyes to be met with the sight of the nin, who was about to rape her, holding his neck as blood flowed from his neck.

She looked up and saw to her surprise and joy, Naruto standing over her with both of his trench knives out and a dark look on his face.

"I'm sorry for not getting here sooner Hinata." He said as he glared at the seven Kumo nin who were facing him.

Naruto glared at the seven Kumo nin around him. Judging by their looks he had just killed the strongest of their group.

"If any of you lay so much as a finger on Hinata, I will rip you to pieces!" shouted Naruto as he got into his stance with the trench knives at the ready.

"Ha you just got lucky with killing Kuroi. Damned idiot always stops paying attention when he is about to get some fine looking ass." Said one of the Kumo nin.

Naruto glared at that nin as he started channeling chakra into making two of his shadows. "You can believe that…or you can come at me and die." Said Naruto.

"Damn cocky leaf nin!" yelled one the other Kumo nin.

He ran at Naruto with two kunai drawn, unfortunately he didn't make it far as he suddenly stopped moving and hunched over. Slowly the body lifted up and his fellow nin could see a trench knife sticking in his stomach.

It was attached to an arm that was all black and sticking out of a shadow. Slowly the shadow began to rise and take shape in the form of Naruto.

The shadow sliced the nin's neck to make sure he was dead and joined his leader along with the other Shadow that formed up beside Naruto.

"What the hell are those things?" asked one of the Kumo nin.

"Doesn't matter. He won't be able to stand up to all six of us. I will stay back and launch my jutsu on the original. Each one of them will get two of us to fight." Said the leader of the group. This was the same one who had imprisoned Kiba and Shino earlier.

"Raton: Bolt!" shouted the nin as he shot a bolt of lightning at Naruto.

The three Naruto's jumped in different directions and charged the enemy. Naruto blocked the blades of a Katana from the gennin protecting the new leader.

"You're pretty good with that sword of yours. Too bad you're not good enough!" shouted Naruto as slammed the sword away and kicked the gennin in the face.

He then continued onward to the leader, who had gathered quite a bit of lightning chakra.

"You think I will go down that easily? Now I will show you why the Raikage has taught me one of his strongest jutsu!" said the nin.

"Raton: Lightning Armor!" he screamed as his body was encompassed by a shield of lightning.

Grinning at Naruto he disappeared. 'What!' thought Naruto before he felt a strong punch to his gut that sent him flying back.

Naruto slowly pulled himself up and saw the boy grinning at Naruto with a face that clearly said that he was going to win.

"Give up already! We outnumber you seven to one, just tell me how you think you can win." He stated.

Naruto just smirked at the gennin for a second. "You are a fool if you believe having such a powerful jutsu makes you invincible. Besides, its only seven to three." Stated Naruto as a giant ball of fire flew through the air towards the new leader and two of the gennin.

The leader and one of the gennin were quick enough to dodge, but the last and weakest one of the group was unable to escape. A screamed ripped through the air as he was burned alive.

"Nice for you to finally get here Sasuke. Sakura I want you to free Shino and Kiba and then get Hinata to safety. You aren't any use to us at your current level!" ordered Naruto as Sasuke nodded.

"But…" Sakura trailed off as Naruto glared at her.

"Move it Sakura!" yelled Naruto.

Sakura quickly bolted for the imprisoned Shino and Kiba. While Naruto just got back in his stance and waited for the Kumo nin to attack.

"Dobe, what is the plan here? That kid is using a jutsu unique to the new Raikage!" asked Sasuke as he pulled out a kunai.

"You will take the two on the far left. I will take the four on the right; my clones should be able to handle them. Personally I want to kill this bastard for what he said about Hinata." Said Naruto as he glared at the Kumo nin.

"What are their abilities?" asked Sasuke.

"One uses weak water jutsu and is gennin level. The other uses earth jutsu and is low chuunin level. You better be able to handle that Teme." Said Naruto as if he was challenging the Uchiha Heir.

"Just look out for yourself, Dobe." Said Sasuke.

Meanwhile the Kumo Nin leader glared at the two waiting for them to come up with a plan. It didn't matter if they did as he was confident that he would be able to crush them with his power.

"ENOUGH!" shouted the leader as he charged at Naruto.

"I got this, go!" shouted Naruto as Sasuke leapt away.

The leader closed in on Naruto before he could react and caught him right in the chest with a massive punch. However, Naruto didn't even move as the leader looked down at his hand that was now sticking out of Naruto's back.

He smirked as blood gushed out of the room and Naruto shuddered for a second before he became still. That smirk changed however when Naruto's body began to turn black and sink into one of the tree's shadows.

"That's a nifty jutsu eh?" said Naruto from behind the leader.

"It is, especially considering that you don't need hand signs to do it." Said the leader.

"Just one of my many talents." Said Naruto as he waved his trench knives and crouched down.

"I can see that, I can also see that you have two more of those clones fighting the other three while we have our battle. What is your name Leaf Shinobi?" asked the leader.

"It's polite to introduce yourself, before answering." Replied Naruto.

"The name is Burittsu, cousin of the Raikage." Said the leader.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Stated Naruto as he charged Burittsu.

"Too slow!" he heard from behind him Burittsu faded from view.

Naruto rolled to the side as a fist impacted the ground he had just stood at for a second. Lashing out with his heel in a spin, he connected with Burittsu.

However he did not take into account that his body was covered in electricity and was shocked and flung away.

'Damn! That is one hell of a defense!' thought Naruto as he stood up.

Quickly ducking to avoid yet another punch he jumped back and flew through a few modified hand seals while holding his knives. "Kage: Shadow Spear!" shouted Naruto.

Three black spears shot out of the ground aimed at vital places on Burittsu's body. It did not work as each of the spears were blocked by the shield of lightning.

"Damn!" cursed Naruto loudly as one of his fastest attack jutsu didn't work.

Once again he was forced on the defensive as Burittsu kept up the pressure. Slowly Naruto began to give way and was forced to release the weights he had. This didn't do any good as he still couldn't pass through his defense.

"This is one of the greatest fights I have ever had! It is too bad I'm going to have to kill such a strong opponent." Said Burittsu as Naruto tried to think of a strategy.

In the corner of his eyes he could see that the barrier holding both Shino and Kiba finally gave way, but not from any external factors. 'He must be running out of chakra!' exclaimed Naruto in his mind.

However he was unable to make due on that threat as he felt a great wave of force crash into him.

Naruto flew through the hair and smashed through three tree's before finally stopping. He coughed up blood as he got to his knee's. The blow had destroyed a few organs and broke a few bones. It also made him dispel his shadows and his blades disappeared into his seal.

"You were a worthy opponent, but you lost focus and will now die at my hands. What is this? I didn't think you would be able to move for at least a few hours after an attack like that?" asked Burittsu.

The sudden change in where the conversation was going caused Naruto to look up despite the pain. There he saw Hinata standing there between him and Burittsu. She favored her one leg and was shaking like a leaf.

"I won't let you hurt him!" she declared.

"It doesn't matter what you let me do! You can barely stand as it is!" yelled Burittsu as backhanded her and sent her flying over to where Naruto was.

She landed less than a foot from Naruto and the two looked at each other for a second before Hinata shuddered.

"H-Hinata?" asked Naruto carefully as he watched her eyes look at him for a second before they rolled up into her head.

Her body went limp and still as if she were asleep. Naruto's mouth hung open as his brain processed what he had just witnessed.

Hinata…his best friend, the girl he was developing feelings for, the only person he could talk to, and the gentlest person in the world was dead. His eyes grew wide as he crawled over to her.

He grabbed her hand and let a few tears roll from his eyes as he watched her lifeless body.

"The girl should've just stayed down on the ground. I wouldn't of had to kill such a beautiful girl, it is a shame as her body would've been a prize possession of mine." Said Burittsu with no emotion.

Naruto grit his teeth and felt a great anger flow through his body. His aches and pains began to go away. 'How dare he hurt my' "HINATA!" he screamed at the end of his question and suddenly everything went red.

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HAHAHA! BET YOU THOUGHT THAT WAS THE END! LOL!

Shino and Kiba were just a little too late. They saw there sister in all but blood stand up and face a ninja that had just destroyed Naruto. They were also witness to her death and Naruto's breakdown.

Suddenly a burst of intense killing intent spread through the area making all of the fighting stop. Even the fight between Gaara and Yugito stopped, even though they were now about a mile away from where the initial fighting started.

Naruto's body was suddenly expelling massive amounts of evil red chakra that surrounded him and Hinata. Mixed in with the red chakra was pure black clouds of chakra that flowed into Hinata and what appeared to be Naruto's tattoos on his wrists.

Naruto's body began to heal up and his eyes turned from bright blue to dark red. His hair grew wild and his fingernails grew into long black claws. He slowly stood up into a crouch and a chakra tail ejected out of his lower back.

"What is Naruto?" asked Kiba.

"Naruto is a mystery." Stated Shino as he was figuring why the shroud of chakra seemed to be protecting Hinata from harm even though she was dead.

"What the hell is this!" exclaimed Burittsu.

"**I will kill you!"** shouted Naruto as he charged at Burittsu at speeds matching his. But not before killing the last of the genins trying to deal with him.

Burittsu met him head on and clashed fists with the enraged gennin. To his surprise his lightning was disrupted and he felt his knuckles being burned by the evil chakra.

He jumped back and Naruto was right on him again. His hands were flexed like claws and were swiping at vital points on his body. This continued for an entire minute before Burittsu got annoyed.

"That is it! I will crush you at full power!" shouted Burittsu as even more lightning chakra gathered around him.

He launched at Naruto again and connected with his jaw, but Naruto didn't move a step from the position he was in. "**Is that all?"** asked Naruto as a second tail shot out of his back.

Naruto punched the air in front of him and Burittsu felt the force of the punch 5 yards away. "**I will kill you!"** shouted Naruto again as his hand morphed to a giant black chakra fist that was flying at Burittsu.

The fist connected with him and sent him flying back. Burn marks appeared all over his chest where the black chakra fist hit him.

He slowly got up and held his burnt chest. His chakra was nearly gone and all of the damage he had done did nothing to the demon in front of him.

His armor sputtered for a second before staying up after he charged up the last of his reservoirs. This was no longer for the mission, but for his honor in defeating this gennin. No matter what he was going to die, his team was dead and he was one of the last left of the group and was suffering from chakra exhaustion.

"This is the end!" yelled Burittsu as his armor exploded around him in a fierce display of power.

"**For you that is!"** yelled Naruto as his crimson cloak started to change to more of a black cloak. His hand was completely covered in the shadowy black chakra as he charged one last attack.

The two raced at each other with as much chakra as they could gather. There fists connected with a great blast of black and blue chakra as they struggled to overpower eachother.

Just then Naruto's black attack doubled in size as he smirked in victory. "**DIE!"** yelled Naruto as his black chakra completely plowed through Burittsu's attack and armor.

The Kumo Nin Burittsu was nothing more than a few scraps of blood, bone, and flesh after the attack was over.

Naruto lowered his burnt hand and walked over to where Hinata's body was. Black and red chakra flared around his body as he approached his friend. "**I will save you."** Stated Naruto as all of his black chakra suddenly flew from him into Hinata.

With the absence of the black chakra, Naruto fell to the ground passed out just when Sasuke eliminated his last opponent. 'What is he?' were the thoughts of Shino, Kiba, Sakura, and Sasuke.

That was pushed to the side as they raced over to where Naruto and Hinata lay. They found both of them still breathing and overly okay. Hinata didn't even look like she had a single wound.

"We should get our scrolls and get to the tower as soon as possible." Said Sasuke.

"I already did that Sasuke. We can use them to barter with if we are attacked later." Said Sakura.

"We need an earth scroll." Said Shino as Sakura nodded at him.

"Well it is a good thing that they had two then." Smiled Sakura.

"Okay, I will carry the Dobe here and Sakura will carry Hinata. Let's get out of this god forsaken forest." Said Sasuke.

That is the end of the chapter. The fate of Gaara's and Yugito's fight will be shown next chapter during the preliminaries. I hope you all liked the third chapter!

If you have any questions that you would like to ask me just ask during a review or send me a personal message. Furthermore his Shadow chakra will be detailed in the next chapter where he will have his first meeting with the Kyubi. Hint is in the beginning of this chapter during the intro.

Last, Thanks for all of the awesome reviews that you have all been giving me. I have found everyone of them enjoyable to look at.

Thanks **Kingkakashi **for putting my story in one of your recommendations in one of my favorite stories. I can't wait for Hiashi to get what is coming to him! Keep up the awesome work!

Till next time,

ICHeart


	4. The Preliminaries

Hey what's up everyone! I have to say that I am getting some pretty amazing reviews right now and hope you all continue to enjoy my fiction.

This is just a minor crossover and will have a history of the crossover universe and why Naruto has gained his powers and perhaps one that I just thought of…it might be awesome, but I will let you all decide in a **POLL!**

So for all of you who have added me on PSN I am making an ANBU squad out of OC's created by you. This very moment I have two characters from **Adngo714 **and **Shini Namikaze.** I just need two more OC's now for my ANBU squad. They will all make an appearance during the Oto/Suna Invasion for sure and later on in the story.

This is a continuation of the Forest of Death and the preliminaries. Also I don't know the order of matches for the preliminaries besides Naruto's match and Hinata's so I will go in my own order. I don't know when I will stop, but it will probably be around 10,000 words like all of the chapters in this story. So let's get this chapter started!

**Chapter 4- Preliminaries**

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Drip…Drip…Drip…Drip…why was it so dark? All he could see was darkness, vast amounts of darkness. From what he could tell he was stuck in ankle high puddle of water, some sort of sewer or shed as he could hear the dripping.

'Where the hell am I? I was fighting that Burittsu guys and then I'm here in this dark abyss!' shouted Naruto in his mind as he took a step further looking for some sort of object.

He walked along for a few minutes just reaching out in the darkness trying to find something to grab ahold of. His thoughts drifted to the fight and what transpired during the contest of strength.

However, those thoughts focused on blue haired girl that was possibly his best friend. Seeing that man about to do something so evil to someone that was as nice and caring as Hinata drove him over the edge.

Not even when Mizuki had nearly killed Iruka-Sensei, or when Haku had turned Sasuke into a human pincushion had he been so angry.

Three times now he had lost people that were close to him. Sure Iruka-sensei was just a teacher and Sasuke was…well a bastard, but that didn't matter to him. The two of them were connected by the pain that they shared.

However, Hinata was…pure. He could see a deep pain in her eyes and loneliness that rivaled Sasuke's and his own eyes. Yet, unlike the two of them her thoughts weren't evil and bent on revenge and trying to suppress the thoughts of death.

Naruto wasn't blind he could tell that Hinata hurt just as much if not just a little less than him. That is what hit him the hardest. How the kindest, most pretty, and modest girl could harbor such loneliness.

His heart ached whenever he saw her with those eyes that showed so much loneliness in them. If it hadn't been for the Wave mission and Haku he would have never noticed it before.

But what could be the cause of such eyes on such a pure person? It couldn't be that she was an orphan, as he knew the Hyuga were a very large clan in Konoha. She had friends in the academy as Kiba and Shino were always acting like brothers to her.

So why did she have those eyes that did not belong to such a beautiful face?

Every memory that he could remember from before the bandit camp and fighting that jounin about her came to his mind. She had always been shy around him and getting red in the face as if she were angry or sick.

However, her body language never once suggested that as the case. It wasn't till after the bandit camp that he could have a conversation with her and not worry about her fainting.

So why did Hinata's safety and well being weight so heavily on his mind, while people like Sakura, Iruka, and Jiji not affect him so much if they were in such trouble?

Just then Naruto heard a deep chuckling come from the dark. Naruto turned in circles as his eyes struggled to adjust to unyielding darkness. It seemed as if the chuckling came from everywhere at once.

Even Zabuza and his mist didn't instill this much fear into Naruto. However, he wouldn't bow down just because he couldn't see this person who was mocking him in the dark.

"**YOU ARE A FOOLISH BOY! YOUR DREAMS MEAN NOTHING AND YOU LACK THE WILL TO DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE!**" Boomed a voice from the darkness that came from everywhere at once.

"Who the hell are you? Come on out and I will show you how much will I have!" yelled Naruto as he gripped as much inner strength as he could.

"**AS IF YOU COULD! YOU LACK THE UNDERSTANDING TO SEE WHAT IS IN FRONT OF YOU! DESPITE ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE YOU WILL NEVER BE A REAL NINJA!**" Yelled the voice as Naruto spun around in terror.

"Damn you! You have no idea who I am! I will become a great ninja and become Hokage!" yelled Naruto.

"**YOU ARE WEAK AND MEANINGLESS! IF YOU WERE SO STRONG THAN EXPLAIN TO ME WHY YOU WERE UNABLE TO SAVE HAKU, ZABUZU, OR THAT HYUGA GIRL THAT YOU CARE FOR SO MUCH!** Yelled the voice.

Naruto was visibly shaken by this piece of information. Tears sprung to his eyes as he looked down, but saw nothing but darkness. Darkness…it was the only thing he should be allowed to see.

Out of all the things the voice had said the one about Hinata had been the worst. It was true as he was unable to defeat Burittsu without using the Kyubi's chakra.

However, there was something that was bothering him. Somehow he had regained control of himself after the start…it was weird. It seemed that there was something helping him control the Kyubi's chakra.

"Shut up…SHUT UP!" yelled Naruto as he went from whispering to shouting at the voice.

"**IS THAT ALL THAT YOU HAVE TO SAY! YOUR FATHER WAS TWICE THE NINJA THAT YOU WERE! WHAT IS KEEPING YOU GOING…WHY HAVE YOU NOT GIVEN UP!"** yelled the voice.

"What does it matter to you if I keep going or not! I will not give up as long as there are people who depend on me for safety. I have the power to become someone who can save the lives of those he loves. I will protect them till the day I die and nothing is ever going to stand in my way! Yelled Naruto.

"**YOU ARE BEING SERIOUS AREN'T YOU? WELL THEN FACE YOUR INNER DARKNESS AND THEN YOU WILL FINALLY LEARN WHO I AM! THEN WILL WE HAVE OUR TALK…FACE TO FACE!"** The voice shouted.

"What are you talking about?" asked Naruto.

"**THIS DARKNESS IS THE REPRESENTATION OF YOUR SOUL. HOWEVER IT ALSO THE PART OF YOUR SOUL THAT YOUR POWERS DEPEND ON. BEFORE YOU RECEIVED YOU KNIVES THIS USED TO BE NOTHING MORE THAN A SEWER, BUT NOW IT HAS CHANGED." **Explained the voice.

"How did it change just by receiving my knives?" asked Naruto.

"**THOSE KNIVES OF YOURS CONTAINED THE SPIRIT OF A GREAT WARRIOR. IONS OLD AND THE SAVIOR OF HIS PEOPLE THAT HAS FOUGHT FAR MORE BATTLES THAN ANYONE ELSE ON THIS PLANET. IT IS FROM HIM THAT YOUR SHADOW CAPABILITIES COME FROM. YOU WILL MEET WITH HIM AND HE WILL DECIDE WETHER OR NOT YOU ARE INDEED WORTH OF HIS POWERS."** Said the voice.

"Okay, when do I meet this Great Warrior." Said Naruto with sarcasm. To his surprise two great red eyes appeared in the darkness just in front of him.

"**YOU WILL MEET HIM NOW!"** Yelled the voice as Naruto suddenly found himself floating in a dark area of space with dots of light floating through the sky.

"Now where am I? Damn voice acting like it is an all powerful being!" yelled Naruto as he looked around. What he saw behind him was a massive green, white, and blue orb. The colors intermixed with each other and he could honestly say it was beautiful.

Just then a bright light appeared on the planet that forced Naruto to cover his eyes. When he looked again he saw the masses of white circling a massive obtrusion on the orb that was a red color.

Soon, spreading from the obtrusion it seemed death and destruction. The masses of whited disappeared to become blackened and the green masses slowly turned brown and a disgusting purple all originating at from the red obtrusion.

Like a virus it spread until over half the orb was covered by what Naruto could only describe as death and sorrow. What was once beauty was nothing but an diamond struggling to maintain its beauty.

"Is this my soul?" asked Naruto.

"_**No young one this is not your soul."**_ Came a voice the resonated as if it came from everywhere once again. It was different then the other voice though. The other was filled with hate and malice, while this one was filled with wisdom and sadness.

"Great another voice…any chance you will actually show yourself." Said Naruto as his surroundings changed once more.

Now he was on what seemed like a stone road with massive statues and temples on the sides. Vegetation seemed to have reeked havoc on some of the statues and temples.

The statues themselves were of armored…things, he said people because he was not sure if they were men or something else. They had only three fingers and elongated heads with no mouths.

"Where am I now? Why is this happening to me! Do I really deserve something like this?" asked Naruto as he walked to the end of the road and looked down to see a massive valley filled with vegetation.

"_**This used to be the home planet of my people eons ago before any even lived on your world. My people thrived on this planet living in harmony until a discovery was made that shook it to its core."**_ Stated the voice.

"_**One of the greatest warriors of our race discovered a way to link our minds together in harmony. Many of my people rallied to his cause and the way of the Khalai was born. However, there were some that did not wish to let go of our individuality. So we were banished by a corrupt council against the wishes of the our greatest leader."**_ Stated the voice with much sadness.

"That makes no sense! Why would they just banish you for wanting to remain individuals." Yelled Naruto.

"_**It never made sense…my forefathers were part of those that were banished. We went to the world of Shakuras, which is the home of my people. We became known as the banished ones, while our cousins worked the power of the Khalai. While we used the power of the Void, in which the powers of darkness and shadows manifests itself." **_Explained the voice.

"So what you mean is that my shadows are coming from this "Void"?" asked Naruto.

"_**That is exactly what I mean. The Void can allow someone to see the future, become like a shadow, and manipulate them through years of training." **_Came the voice.

"So what your saying is that my possibilities are limitless? Also, what is your name?" asked Naruto.

"_**Yes the possibilities of your powers are limitless when they are mixed with your chakra. My species, the Protoss, could use the void, but we never had enough energy to use all of its power. If you must know my name it is Zeratul." **_Explained Zeratul.

"So are you going to teach me to use my powers Zeratul?" asked Naruto as he struggled to understand what this Zeratul was saying.

"_**No one can teach you to harness the powers of the void. The void calls upon all beings and you must continue to harness it so that you can become stronger. I have seen your past and the void allows me to see your future. You will become a great ninja, but it will be through hard work and the courage to stand for what you believe is right."**_

"If you can see the future then why don't you tell me what I need to know then?" asked Naruto.

"_**It is not my place to tell you what you need to know young one. The sands of fate are always shifting, as it is our decisions that can change everything. This planet is my peoples home world of Auir. My race was destined to assimilate into a being known as the Overmind!" **_explained the voice as Naruto's surroundings shifted again.

The sky was blood red, the clouds dark, and the ground devoid of all vegetation. Massive organisms and what looked like living buildings covered the valley below. The center of the valley held the most massive thing he had ever seen before.

It looked like a giant organ with four appendages rising above it with a central dome that moved around as if it were an eye. Thousands of other much smaller winged creatures circled it in a massive pillar.

That's when he heard a loud bang and looked behind him to see thousands of horrifying looking creatures charging at a large group of men in bulky blue armor. The men in the armor raised up big steel looking rods and suddenly thousands of explosions followed as the hundreds of the creatures fell to the ground bleeding and screeching.

Massive metal beasts stood behind the men and started making the banging noise. Naruto could barely follow the projectiles as they left the tubes on the beasts.

'They must be some sort of advanced projectile weapon or something and those must be metal suits that might run on chakra?' thought Naruto.

He watched in fascination as thousands of the creatures fell at the hands of the projectiles, but their numbers never wavered. Soon the creatures were upon the men and screams tore through his body.

He felt sick as he watched men get mutilated, melted, or crushed by the horde. It was at that moment balls of blue light flew into the creatures and exploded in a mass of blue energy.

The battle had shifted as a new faction joined on the side of the men. Naruto could immediately tell that these were not men as they were larger and had a different color skin.

Their warriors wore yellow armor that had two glowing blades sticking out of the wrists. These warriors cut into the ranks of the creatures and began to push them back as they were protected by projectile weaponry from the men, machines, and these four legged walkers that were firing the energy balls.

"_**The Terran and the Protoss both fighting alongside each other to rid Auir of the infestation known as the Overmind. It was driven by single purpose to assimilate the Protoss into the Zerg to become complete. In one last gamble, the greatest Protoss ever Executor Tassadar sent his flag ship into a direct collision with the Overmind." **_Explained Zeratul as Naruto now looked at the sky and saw hundreds of massive metal monsters descend from the sky with weapons blazing.

They wreaked havoc on the Zerg ground forces before the column of Zerg fliers over the Overmind charged at the fleet. The battle turned worse as the metal monsters turned to flame and exploded.

Only one made it through the thick blanket of Zerg and slowly moved towards the Overmind. Naruto watched in awe as blue energy came from the ship and covered it in a field of energy so bright he had to shield his eyes.

It collided with the massive Overmind and soon the great creature began to break apart as the blue energy tore into the creature. As it broke apart piece descended on the battlefield as all three races stopped fighting.

Suddenly all went dark again and Naruto was standing in a long corridor that was dimly lit. "Why don't you show yourself and tell me what I need to know then Zeratul?" asked Naruto.

"_**Very well."**_ Stated Zeratul as a figure walked out the darkness. He stood around 5' 9" and had blue skin with glowing green eyes. He had armor only on his wrist where Naruto assumed his energy blade came from. The rest of his body was covered in a dark purple cloak that seemed to give him a deadly sort of appearance.

"_**Naruto Uzumaki, I have chosen you to be the successor of my peoples power, the Void! You will not discover everything about your powers, but if you understand the Void it will help you."**_ Said Zeratul before he continued.

"_**That battle was one of my species greatest ever only after our leader Tassadar harnessed the powers of the Void could he kill the great beast. The battle also taught our species that we were not alone in the universe against such a threat. We worked alongside the human race and we won the day."**_

"_**My greatest friend, after the war was done, was James Raynor. The ancestor of your race." **_Said Zeratul before he was interrupted.

"This is all good and all, but what does this have to do about choosing me to have your powers?" asked Naruto.

"_**Because you are the ancestor of James Raynor and only someone who has both a lightside and darkside can properly harness them. We will talk again, but I have judged your soul and you are indeed worthy." **_Finished Zeratul as he backed away and disappeared into the dark.

"Great…how the hell do I get out of here?" asked Naruto as everything went black again and he was in the first room again, but two giant red eyes were looking at him.

"**SO YOU ARE BACK HUMAN…DO YOU STILL WISH TO KNOW WHO I AM." **came the voice again.

"You're the Kyubi…I don't why didn't know before but after realizing that Zeratul was in my mind then I only had to use process of elimination to know that those eyes belong to you furry." Said Naruto boredly as he just wanted the hell out of here.

"**YOU HAVE A LOT OF GUTS FOR A HUMAN, BUT THEN AGAIN YOU HAVE GOTTEN BLESSINGS FROM ZERATUL. WE WILL TALK AGAIN SOON, YOUR NEEDED OUTSIDE."** Said the Kyubi as everything began to dissolve.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was in a dark moist area, not as dark as his mind, but still pretty dark. He slowly got up and registered the fact that he no longer felt any pain in his body.

He looked to the side saw that he seemed to be in a tree, well at least under the tree as he could see the roots. Just then he heard a cry of pain from outside and looked to see an opening in the roots.

He walked outside to see Sasuke fighting against one of the nin from Sound, protecting an injured Sakura. Then he watched Kiba and Shino fighting the leader of the Sound team. Then he saw Hinata trying to fight the girl on their team.

Quickly he summoned two shadow clones and the three took off to fight the three opponents. The original went after the girl, while the clones went after the two boys.

The one Sasuke was fighting was launching high pressure air attacks at Sasuke with ease. This prevented him from getting close, or using a fire ball as his chakra would then run low.

'Damn this guy! If it wasn't for the fight with those Kumo nin this guy would already be down.' Thought Sasuke as he took cover behind a tree.

"Haha is this all the power that the great Uchiha has? This is pathetic! Great Decapitating Air Waves!" Zaku yelled as he shot his strongest attack at Sasuke.

'I can't dodge this!' Thought Sasuke as the attack approached him.

"Futon: Great Breakthrough!" Yelled Naruto as he jumped in front of Sasuke and launched one of his few wind jutsu.

The attacks collided and both fought for dominance. It was a stalemate until Naruto's clone pushed every bit of chakra that it had into the attack. Nothing happened for a second, but then Zaku's attack changed directions and the power of both attacks combined smashed into him.

"Kill him then help get Sakura on her feet." Said the clone before it poofed out of existence.

The one that was going to assist Kiba and Shino had it easier as he just had to get behind Dosu and wait for the opening. During this he had noticed that Shino's eyes weren't covered by sunglasses. Shino, sensing Naruto quickly gave him that opening by throwing a kunai at Dosu.

He moved to block the kunai, but didn't notice Naruto drop down from above and slam a kunai into the base of his skull.

"Well that was easy." Said Naruto as he smiled at the battered forms of Kiba and Shino.

"That's because you've been asleep for the past day!" yelled Kiba as he hit the clone on the head causing it to dispel.

"What the hell was that?" asked Kiba in shock as he never saw a clone like that.

"That was just a clone." Stated Shino as he took out another pair of sunglasses to replace the ones Dosu had broke.

"How many of those do you have?" asked Kiba.

"How many fleas do you have?" answered Shino with another question.

Kiba answered back with a rude remark, starting off another one sided argument.

Hinata was fairing surprisingly well against Kin. The girl was genjutsu specialist and could throw senbon with accuracy. Her genjutsu didn't work as Hinata's Byakugan could see through all illusions.

The only drawback in the fight was that she was still a little injured from her fight with the Kumo nin. Her teammates said something happened to Naruto, that allowed him to heal her.

That was what had her confused the most. They said Naruto had become something else that was completely focused on protecting her and killing the nin that had done those attacks to her.

This girl wasn't nearly as strong as the Kumo nin, but she was fast enough just to stay away from Hinata. She had finally gotten close when she heard the sound of a kunai approaching and ducked.

The Kunai sailed over her head, directly into the Kin's throat. Hinata got back up and watched with a little pity as her opponent slowly collapsed to the floor.

Just then she felt a pair of arms wrap around her body from behind, instinctively she broke the hold and spun around while sending a juken strike into the gut of the one who grabbed her.

Only after she hit her attacker did she realize her mistake as Naruto was on the ground holding his gun, with a small grin on his lips.

"I should've realized you would be too on edge to try and hug you Hinata." He said as he got to his feet slowly.

"Naruto!" she screamed as she grabbed a hold of him and hugged him tightly to her body, all the while apologizing about hitting him.

Shino and Kiba were smiling at their sister as she kept trying to apologize to Naruto about hitting him. Sasuke was reluctantly holding Sakura, as he didn't seem to care about Naruto and Hinata.

"Hinata, I'm okay it only stung a bit and I'm a quick healer." Said Naruto as he held Hinata as she hung on to him.

"I'm sorry, you just got up from being hurt badly and I didn't want you to be hurt anymore." She mumbled into his chest, but he heard it all.

"Don't worry you didn't hurt me Hinata." Said Naruto as he pulled her a bit closer.

"If you don't mind, we need to move to the tower. Most of us are out of chakra and we have our scrolls. It would be most wise if we headed to the tower and got some rest before the next part of the exam." Said Sasuke as everyone looked at him for talking this much, even Shino.

"Look, who cares what I do, but I am right!" yelled Sasuke as he quickly got tired of the stares.

"He is right. We should be able to make it in less than one hour." Said Shino as the rest nodded. Naruto created a clone to carry Sakura and they were off to finish the second part of the exams.

They were unaware of the silver haired gennin following them the whole time wondering why there was a change in plans. 'Where are you Orochimaru-sama?' wondered the gennin as he decided to get moving.

It didn't take them long before they were all at the tower wondering what they wondering what they were supposed to do with their scrolls.

"Maybe we should open it?" asked Naruto as he looked at both his heaven and earth scroll.

"Yeah right Baka, and risk being disqualified!" yelled Sakura.

"Naruto is right!" said Sasuke as Sakura immediately shut herself up and put herself on Sasuke's side.

"Indeed, there were no rules stating that we couldn't open the scrolls after we made it back." Said Shino.

"Okay lets do this!" said Naruto as he opened both of the scrolls and promptly threw them on the ground.

A second later there was a poof of smoke and Iruka was there smiling at the six gennin. "It seems that you guys decided to get together to make it through the exams."

"Not really sensei. We have to talk to Jiji about what happened in the exams." Said Naruto.

"Well you have three days to rest before the next part starts, but I'm not sure if the Hokage will be around in the next three days. There was a lapse in security in the exams." Said Iruka.

"What exactly happened?" asked Shino.

"Well Orochimaru was spotted entering the village by one of our top ANBU sqauds. Thankfully he didn't make it into the forest." Explained Iruka as he allowed Team 8 to follow since they showed him their scrolls.

"This is different we need to talk to Jiji about it." Said Naruto.

"Okay I will send him a message, but don't get your hopes up." Said Iruka when he sensed how serious Naruto was.

"For now all of you just take a break and engage in some light exercising. When the Hokage gets here I will summon you all." Said Iruka as everyone nodded and he walked away.

"Well I'm going to get something to eat, anyone want to come? Hinata?" asked Naruto as she smiled and nodded. The others quickly found excuses and walked away.

"I guess that just leaves you and me Hinata!" Smiled Naruto as he grabbed her hand and dragged her around in an attempt to find the lunchroom.

Entering the lunchroom they noticed immediately the Sand Team there in the corner. The older two looked like they were pretty banged up and tired and even Gaara looked like he had come out of a blender.

They immediately looked up when Naruto barged through the door and were surprised to see Hiinata there with them.

To this they were surprise as they had thought that the Leaf team that was in forest with them was destroyed.

"How the heck did that leaf team survive against four Kumo teams?" asked Kankuro.

"I know, I thought they were dead meat when that crazy bitch separated us with that massive Katon attack!" answered Temari.

"That blonde arrived…I sensed his killing intent from a few miles away. Mother wants his blood badly!" said Gaara as a bloodthirsty smile covered his face.

Temari and Kankuro looked at each other for a second before going back to their meals.

'That girl may have escaped due to you…but you will not escape mother's wrath!' thought Gaara.

Naruto and Hinata quickly ate and left to find somewhere quiet to rest and talk for a little bit.

"So how do you think Shikamaru's team is going to do?" asked Naruto as they sat on a balcony overlooking the forest.

"I don't know…as long as Shikamaru doesn't fail on purpose I'm sure they can make it." Responded Hinata.

"Yeah that is true. The only way for him to work hard is if it is for a break." Laughed Naruto as Hinata did too. Soon a comfortable silence settled on the two for a few minutes.

"Thank you." Hinata spoke softly after a few minutes.

"What was that?" asked Naruto as he barely heard her.

"I said thank you…" said Hinata as she looked down a bit.

"Why are you saying 'thank you' Hinata?" asked Naruto.

"Because if it wasn't for you I would be on my way to Kumo now! They would've done horrible things to me Naruto!" yelled Hinata as tears formed at her eyes.

Immediately she felt two pairs of arms wrap around her again and pull her into their body. This time however she didn't hit the person, but allowed herself to be pulled into their chest as tears ran down her eyes.

"It's okay Hinata…I will do everything in my power to protect you. You mean too much to me for me to let you get hurt." Whispered Naruto as Hinata softly cried into his chest and hugged him back.

It didn't take long for her to stop crying and to Naruto's amazement he found that she was sleeping.

'What am I supposed to do now?' thought Naruto as he decided to make one of his shadows go look for where Team 8 was sleeping for the night.

(This is the shadows perspective. Remember they are linked to Naruto's mind so it is like it is Naruto.)

The shadow was running through the entire tower trying to find either Kiba or Shino. Along the way he spotted a Kusa team enter the tower, and he even spotted another Leaf team that had Lee in it.

Finally he found Kiba and Shino arguing about whether or not dogs or insects were better partners.

"What do you mean insects are smarter?" yelled Kiba as Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Guys! Sorry to break this up, but I was wondering where the room they assigned you was? You see Hinata fell asleep in my lap and I was going to put her to bed." Said Naruto.

As Shino and Kiba nodded. "We will show you where we are staying then Naruto." Said Kiba.

They soon made it back to Naruto and Hinata as the shadow was directly linked to Naruto. As soon as they made it the shadow sunk into the floor and joined up with Naruto's actual shadow.

"Check it out you guys! Ever since the fight with Kumo nin my shadow chakra has been much easier to control." Said Naruto as he smiled at them.

Ever since talking with Zeratul his shadow chakra was much stronger as he was beginning to access the void. The only problem was that the seals on his wrists that held his knives were starting to fade.

"If you want we can take Hinata for you?" offered Kiba as Naruto shook his head.

"Well I would, but…she won't let go." Stated Naruto as he tried to pry her arms from him, but only managed to make her squeeze harder.

"That is a problem." Stated Shino as he turned around and motioned for Naruto to follow him.

The ironic thing about going to Team 8's room was that it was only two doors down from the balcony.

"If I had known that I would've been good by myself." Said Naruto as he put Hinata down in her bed.

He tried to pull away, but was quickly brought down harder than before as Hinata squeezed the life out of him while mumbling about her 'Naru-Kun' to his embarrassment as Kiba and even Shino started laughing.

"Well we will be back later Naruto! Now don't do anything a gentlemen wouldn't do, and you are welcome to stay here for tonight." Laughed Kiba as he and Shino left the room.

"Don't leave me!" said Naruto as he was once again pulled into Hinata's chest.

'Damn…well might as well get comfortable.' Thought Naruto as he laid his head on the pillow and just watched Hinata.

'I will never let anyone hurt you Hinata. I don't know what I have been feeling lately, but I know that you are more than a friend to me.' Thought Naruto as he slowly drifted to sleep.

Kiba and Shino were still laughing a hour later as they were in the rec room sitting around.

"Did you see how Hinata was suffocating him?" laughed Kiba as Shino chuckled a bit.

"Yes, do you think we did the right thing by leaving him in there?" asked Shino. As he was well aware of Hinata's feelings for Naruto.

"Of course we did! Heck we're better matchmakers than even Ino!" exclaimed Kiba. Shino however just got a sweat drop on his face as he saw someone approach Kiba from behind.

"What was that MUTT!" yelled Ino, scaring the crap out of Kiba.

"What did you call me?" yelled Kiba as he glared at Ino.

"I called you a M-U-T-T, MUTT! Now what did you say about being a better matchmaker.

"Like that is any of your business." Said Kiba as he turned around. A pity as he didn't see Ino lift her leg and plant it between his legs.

"Now, Mutt, if you don't want me to work more of my feminem magic. I suggest you tell me what you meant by that statement earlier." Said Ino in sickly sweet voice making Kiba gulp.

"You win…Hinata fell asleep holding Naruto so we helped him put her to bed. When we were leaving Hinata grabbed Naruto in her sleep and wouldn't let him go so we left them there." Said Kiba as Ino looked surprised at that.

"So Naruto is here? That means Sasuke also passed the test! Anyway, what room are they in? I want to see this for myself." Said Ino.

"I will lead the way…again." Said Shino as Ino happily followed him. Kiba slowly picked himself up and followed after the two while Shikamaru and Chouji saw their teammate leave and decided to follow.

"So how did you guys get your scroll?" asked Kiba as Shikamaru and Chouji caught up with him.

"Well Shikamaru was trying to find a weak team to fight, so earlier today we found a large group of slaughtered Kumo ninja. Luckily one of the teams still had a scroll, so we took it and made it here." Said Chouji as he ate some chips.

"I'm still wondering what could've killed all of those Shinobi." Said Ino as they caught up to her and Shino.

"It was Naruto." Said Shino out of the blue.

"What did you say?" asked Shikamaru.

"Those Kumo nin were after Hinata so they attacked us. We were only able to kill one of the nine before Naruto showed up to save Hinata from a fate worse than death. Sasuke killed one and Naruto killed the rest." Said Shino.

"How? Those ninja would've been between low jounin and low chuunin rank if they were here to steal Hinata." Stated Shikamaru.

"I don't know what it was, but Naruto did something that pushed him beyond the levels of all of those ninja. The amount of killing intent was the greatest I have felt in my life." Stated Shino.

"Yeah, it was like I could just see my life ending. He was covered in a red and black chakra cloak that seemed to burn everything it touched." Said Naruto as Shikamaru had a look of comtemplation.

'It sounds like a jinchuriki, but the leaf couldn't have one as all of them are accounted for, but the…' "Kyubi." Breathed out Shikamaru as he had just figured out one of the villages greatest secrets.

'That explains why we were always told to avoid Naruto by other parents. Why the teachers always glared at him and he always acted like he was happy. It was to hide the pain that he was feeling the whole time.' He thought as they made it to his room.

"Everyone be quiet I don't want to wake them up." Whispered Ino as she went for the handle.

"What was that?" asked Kiba loudly.

"I said SHUT UP!" Ino yelled as she punched Kiba in the head. Everyone had sweat drops as she turned around started to slowly open the door.

They all walked in a saw Hinata snuggled up to Naruto's chest with his arms wrapped around her protectively. A little drool was coming from Hinata's mouth and was pooling up on his shirt. Both of them were smiling faintly, but Hinata seemed to have cried earlier.

The group slowly walked out and only when the door was closed did Ino only start to talk. "They are such a cute couple!" said Ino.

"They are pretty nice looking." Agreed Chouji.

"Yeah, but why do you think Hinata seemed to have been crying earlier?" asked Shikamaru.

"Mostly because of what almost happened to her in the forest. The one Kumo nin almost raped Hinata before Naruto showed up and killed him." Said Kiba.

"Troublesome…" said Shikamaru. "Come on you guys we need to get some rest for when the exams start up again."

Team 10 walked away down the corridor when Shino and Kiba looked at eachother.

"Should we sleep in the same room as Hinata and Naruto?" asked Kiba.

"Why not?" responded Shino as Kiba just gaped at him.

"Dick…" whispered Kiba.

"I heard that." Responded Shino as he walked into the room with Kiba following slowly.

Naruto was lined up with his fellow gennin with their sensei's in an indoor arena with walkways surrounding it for people to observe the fights. There were five Leaf Teams, One Sand Team, and One Kusa Team.

Most observers were surprised to see that every single one of the rookie teams made it past the Forest Death. The first match was between a member of Kabuto's team and Sasuke.

Now a week ago Naruto would've been hoping for Sasuke to di…lose his match, but Sasuke was improving so fast in his attitude that Naruto just thought he was just faking everything.

But when Sasuke came up looking for help Naruto couldn't say no as it reminded him of when he begged Kakashi-sensei for help.

Now Naruto was watching Sasuke pick apart his opponent's defense and lay brutal, but effective strikes everywhere on his body. His opponent couldn't even land a hit on Sasuke to drain his chakra.

The match ended as Sasuke's opponent exposed his back to Sasuke and a kunai landed lightly on his neck to show that if Sasuke wanted to he could've killed him there.

The next match was between Shino and one of the Kusa nin. The Kusa nin was wearing full body plate armor, which ruled out the possibility that this gennin relied on speed.

Immediately this gennin charged at Shino, who didn't dodge till the last second by rolling out of the way. The Kusa gennin charged head first, unable to stop his momentum, into the wall.

The blow didn't seem to hurt him at all as he charged once again at Shino. What followed was a high risk match as if Shino made one mistake he would lose for sure.

After a few minutes the Kusa gennin was visibly sweating and slowing down to the point at which he seemed to be nothing more than a brisk walk.

Naruto paid little attention as Shino was explaining to the gennin how his bugs had been draining his chakra since he first tried to attack Shino. He had already heard all of this when he was talking to Hinata the day before.

He was closer than ever with Hinata ever since the day they awoke to find each other in their arms. It was awkward at first as both didn't know what to say to each other.

It was Hinata who surprised Naruto as she just muttered a few words before just snuggling up to him even more. Those words that she had muttered were "Screw it, you're warm."

It was kinda funny as he was thinking the same thing, and he was relieved when she didn't immediately regret doing that. That was what made him decide to ask her on a date after this part of the chuunin exams.

The next match made him want to laugh at the irony. It was between Ino and Sakura. This match was mostly a joke, but Sakura was able to distract Ino for one second and that was all it took for the two to knock each other out.

Since Sasuke had started to change in behavior, maybe Sakura might start to take her training seriously for once.

"I just can't wait for my match! I just finished an awesome technique last night and can't wait to test it out!" exclaimed Naruto as Kakashi smiled at him.

"Was it a wind or shadow jutsu?" asked Kakashi.

"It is a shadow jutsu that is similar to the Shunshin, but it is a full out teleportation technique. The time to reappear only makes it effective to escape a death situation and not to attack quickly." Said Naruto.

"That is interesting. Can you use it without your knives?" asked Kakashi.

"Surprisingly I am now able to use most of my shadow jutsu with out the knives now. I guess I'm just gaining more of an understanding of where my shadow chakra is coming from." Said Naruto as he heard Kyubi in the back of his mind berating him on downplaying Lord Zeratul's information.

That was also a funny thing as Naruto had visited Zeratul and Kyubi last night and had discovered that Zeratul was like a god to the Bijuu for some reason. That was also where Naruto had learned the ability to 'Blink' as Zeratul called it.

"Well that is a surprise, I suggest you ask Shikamaru for help after this part of the chuunin exams." Suggested Kakashi.

"I was definitely considering it." Said Naruto as he watched the match between Kiba and Kankuro.

'I've been wondering what that thing on his back does exactly. I guess I will find out now.' Thought Naruto.

Kiba quickly had Akamaru change into a clone of him as they too had now idea what type of jutsu Kankuro used. Using their Gatsuga Kiba and Akamaru were able to corner Kankuro into a corner.

They both attacked at the same time seemingly to have the effect they wanted. Kankuro was on the floor thoroughly beaten up.

Kiba turned away from the downed Kankuro and that was when he struck. Senbon flew out of his mouth into Kiba and Akamaru's body. His body slowly stood up, slowly pieces of cloth fell off to reveal a puppet underneath.

The pack that Kankuro stashed away at the start of the match exploded and the real Kankuro was now standing behind his puppet.

Some words were exchanged the seemed to shock Kiba, but it didn't matter as the battle progressed with Kiba dodging the blades of the puppet. It soon became apparent that neither Akamaru and Kiba could keep up.

Apparently the senbon in them were designed to slow down Kiba's responses. The battle after that was one sided as Akamaru was out of the fight and Kiba had multiple lacerations across his body.

The only choice was to withdraw and that is exactly what Kiba did. The match ended with the proctor signaling for the next to start.

The next match brought a smile to Naruto's face for it was the other gennin from Kabuto's team and himself up. He jumped down to the center of the arena and awaited for his opponent to step down.

All of Kabuto's team mates creeped him out, but this one seemed pretty…twisted for some reason.

"Hajime!" shouted the proctor as Naruto jumped back and launched three kunai at the ninja.

The ninja weaved through the kunai and approached Naruto. It was then where it seemed the ninja turned into a mass of flesh the wrapped around Naruto.

"I turn all of my bones into cartilage and control them. If you don't surrender I will break your neck." Whispered the ninja into Naruto's ear.

Naruto just smirked in response. "I have a better idea." He said as suddenly he disappeared in a mass of shadows, only to reappear in a mass of shadows on the other side of the arena.

"There is no way you will be able to do that again." Stated Naruto as three of his shadows grew out of the ground around him. They all took out kunai and charged at the ninja.

Despite being extremely flexible the ninja couldn't dodge all of the attacks and was bleeding pretty badly from the kunai wounds on his body. Finally one of his kunai found it's way into one of Naruto's clones, but it didn't stay there long as the clone just repaired itself.

"**Kage no Seifuku!"** yelled Naruto as his three shadows broke apart and flew at the ninja from the floor. The ninja was trapped as the shadows had wrapped around his body.

"What the hell is this?" asked the ninja as he tried to wiggle his way out of the shadows, but they kept readjusting.

"This is my Shadow Subjugation. Surrender, there is no way you are winning this match." Said Naruto.

"To hell with that!" yelled the ninja as he tried even harder to escape.

"**Kage Richi!"** said Naruto as the shadows started to glow a slight blue as the ninja's chakra was sucked from him and put into Naruto.

Soon the ninja was on the ground completely out of chakra. There was little cheering on his win, but Naruto was relieved to see Hinata smiling at him. He also saw Shikamaru possibly trying to figure out how Naruto could control shadows.

Naruto joined the rest of the others at the top of the stands. He was congratulated by both Hinata and Kakashi while others just gave him a small nod of acknowledgement.

Naruto made his way over to Shikamaru to discuss something's for after the second exam, when the next match started. It was between Lee's teammate, Tenten and Temari. Naruto knew right away that Temari was at the advantage as her wind jutsu kept Tenten's attacks from getting close.

"So are you going to tell me how you got Shadow manipulation?" asked Shikamaru.

"Well I'm sure you find out soon, but not here. I was wondering what your clan's position was on teaching techniques to an outsider?" asked Naruto.

"It usually depends on who the outsider is and what he has to offer to the clan. I'm sure you have things to offer, but I will have to check with my father." Said Shikamaru.

"I have very much to offer to your clan. I don't expect a miracle, all I ask is for you to try." Said Naruto as he shook hands with Shikamaru.

After their exchange was over Naruto went over to where Hinata was standing. She smiled at him as he approached. "That was a good match Naruto."

"Thanks Hinata! I hope you do just as well in your match against whoever you fight." Said Naruto.

"I just hope it isn't against Neji." Said Hinata sadly.

"Who is that and why not?" asked Naruto in concern.

"He is the other Hyuga here, he is also my cousin. For as long as I've known him he has hated me for something that happened when I was very young. He is also much better than me in the Gentle Fist." Explained Hinata.

"Well if you fight him, be careful. I'm sure you can win against him if you give it your all Hinata." Said Naruto encouragingly.

"Thank you Naruto." Said Hinata as she managed to smile at him. They both decided to focus on the matches after they were done talking.

During their talk Chouji and Shikamaru had both fought against Kusa ninja, but only Shikamaru was able to pull off a win. During the fight Naruto saw the true tactical mind of a Nara.

Chouji's match was close, but Chouji wasn't able to stand at then end and collapsed right before his opponent did.

The next match up on the screen had Hinata fidgeting as it had Neji vs. Hinata up on the screen. Naruto saw her nervousness and whispered into her ear.

"Do your best Hinata. If you do that then you can leave the ring with your head held up high no matter the outcome…but personally I believe you can kick his ass." Said Naruto.

Hinata slowly walked down the steps and faced off against her cousin. He was glaring at her in a face she had long ago grown accustomed to. Two months ago it would've made her possibly give up, but now it made her determination grow.

"Give up Hinata. Fate has decreed that you face me today and fate will have you fail today." Said Neji.

"I will not give up cousin. I have…come to far to quit by your words alone." Replied Hinata with as much confidence as she could muster.

"Words…nothing but words. If that is all that you have to show then this match will be no different than all of the others." Said Neji.

"No cousin, they are not words. If they were words then explain to me why my team made it back from the Forest before yours did?" asked Hinata. Many people gasped as they had never seen the shy timid girl back talk someone before.

Naruto was openly laughing at what his crush had just said. Who would've known that just a few choice words would give her such a backbone? It was awesome if he had to describe it. Win or lose he was going to do something to make her the happiest person in the world, no matter what.

Neji didn't respond for once and got into his stance. Naruto could quickly tell that it was a very rigid stance and it was made for a head on sort of attack. To his surprise Hinata took the very same stance.

He had never studied her stance before, but now that he was he noticed that it was way too rigid for someone like her to use. The way the foot were placed suggested that she would block.

Naruto knew from experience that she was to nimble to block so she would dance around her opponent. He noticed this when they fought together for the first time against that Inferuno.

"Hajime!" shouted the proctor snapping Naruto out of his thoughts.

Both Hinata and Neji charged at each other trying to beat each other. Neji would strike and Hinata would block and counter attack and Neji would block. Soon both fighters jumped apart to gain a little breathing room.

"You have improved Hinata, but not enough. A failure will always be a failure." Said Neji scornfully.

"Come on Hinata! Stop going easy on the guy! I know for a fact that you have another fighting style that is much better than the one you are using! You used it against Inferuno and kicked his butt!" yelled Naruto.

"What nonsense it this? Hyuga can only learn the Gentle Fist. I hope for your sake that you have not betrayed tradition to learn a new style." Said Neji.

Hinata glanced at a smiling Naruto before building up enough courage to change her stance.

"No cousin. This is still a clan stance, but very few have ever used it. One of them was my mother, it was made for people who have an affinity for water, unlike most of our clan who have an affinity for earth." Said Hinata.

"It doesn't matter what style you have as you will still fail!" declared Neji as he charged at Hinata again.

The two engaged in vicious taijutsu again, but it was different this time as Hinata dodged attack after attack. Neji landed maybe one or two blows the entire five minutes that they fought, while Hinata landed around ten.

It was at the height of the skirmish that they both aimed at the chest of the other hoping to bring them down and out. Both stopped as their hands stopped at each others chest.

For a few seconds nothing happened, but then suddenly Neji coughed out blood and took a few steps back. "How?" asked Neji.

"Your strike never hit cousin. I pulled my chest back at the last second and your blow missed by less than a centimeter. It seems a loser can fight fate." Said Hinata as she smiled at Neji.

"NEVER!" yelled Neji shocking just about everyone as he began to spin in a dome of chakra. The attack launched Hinata across the room into the wall. Her head hit the wall hard causing her to be knocked out.

"Hinata!" yelled Naruto in worry as he saw her not moving.

"Calm down Naruto, she is just unconscious." Said Kurenai as she appeared behind the boy.

"It seems you were wrong Hinata." Said Neji as he slowly walked to the exit after the proctor called the match. He didn't make it far as he collapsed due to the pain in his chest.

Medics rushed the room and quickly grabbed both Neji and Hinata.

"That Neji is lucky that Hinata hit her head, or she would've won." Said Naruto.

"True, but if it wasn't for you coming along. I don't believe she would've done that good." Said Kurenai.

"What do you mean sensei?" asked Naruto.

"She has always admired you Naruto. Just the fact that you are acknowledging her, means more than the world to her." Said Kurenai.

"Really? Her safety and well being mean more than the world to me." Said Naruto as he glared at the passing Neji.

"It seems you failures like to stick together." Said Neji in the most condescending voice he could muster.

"Funny, if I wasn't mistaken Hinata would've won that match if you didn't pull off that move at the end." Replied Naruto. Neji glared back, but decided not to say anything as the Gai made him sit down and let the medics look at him further.

'I will make him pay…I swear it.' Vowed Naruto as he watched the match between Gaara and Lee.

This match was probably one of the most exciting of the day and also the most informative. Gaara's manipulation of the sand game him a perfect offense and defense, but there were weaknesses that were there.

Lee was pushing those weaknesses to the breaking point, but in the end it was Lee's body that gave way before Gaara's sand. The end result was a severely injured Lee and a slightly angry Naruto at the way Lee's dreams had been crushed.

The people who won their matches all lined up in front of the Hokage ready for the next part of the exam.

"I would like to congratulate all of you on making it this far in the exam. Now the third part of the chuunin exams shall be held in one month in a arena for the whole world to see. It will be a tournament style competition, where you will fight for the honor of your village." Said the Hokage.

"So if we win, we will be promoted?" asked the last Kusa gennin.

"No, only if the proctors believe that your mind and body are ready to become chuunin will you be allowed to become one. You could win the whole tournament and not be promoted, or you can lose your first match and be promoted. Now you will all be drawing numbers from this box to determine who will fight who in the first match." Said the Hokage, as Hayate walked up with a box and a large board with numbers on it.

"When I call your name come up and pick a number." Said Hayate

The order of the matches would follow along the lines of this.

vs. Naruto

2. Sasuke vs. Gaara

3. Shikamaru vs. Temari

4. Shino vs. Kankuro

The Kusa nin got a bye the first round and would have to fight the winner of Shino and Kankuro in the semi-finals.

"Well I'm off to see Hinata-chan!" yelled Naruto as he got ready to dash away.

"Wait! Meet me at the entrance of the my clan compound at 10:00 tomorrow Naruto!" yelled Shikamaru.

"Gotcha Shika!" laughed Naruto as he had just rhymed Shikamaru's name.

"All blondes are troublesome…" said Shikamaru, but he felt a great amount of killing intent from behind him.

"What was that Nara?" asked Temari as she glared at him.

"Troublesome…" trailed off Shikamaru as he got destroyed by his opponent a month before he even was supposed to fight her.

So that is the end of chapter 4, aren't you all happy that I got this out this early? I know I am as this is probably the quickest chapter I have ever done before!

I still need two more people for my ANBU squad so if no one else adds me on PSN then I will just ask my two favorite reviewers to make up two characters to put into the squad.

Thanks for all the reviews and favorite stories! Hoped you liked reading this one too!

So I hear that the U.S. Government wishes to stop online piracy...well we cannot let this happen. First it is the internet, next it is our schools, then our television, and before we know it we will be in some sort of 1984 situation that will piss a lot of people off. Let's stop this now by not allowing our government to pass these acts!


	5. House of Cards

So here it is the fifth chapter of The Fox's Shadow. I hope you all enjoy it as I surely do enjoy writing these stories. Now college has started up again so I have to apologize that my chapters are going to take more time to get out now.

Now at the moment I have my Jounin squad during the Oto/Suna Invasion their names, description, and abilities are as followed.

Oni- 6'2'' with a brown skin color, with long braided hair, and brown eyes. He has an affinity for fire and specializes in kenjutsu. He carries twin medium swords that he uses in conjunction with his fire affinity. His personality is cold to all, but his teammates who he would give his life for without hesitation. **Shini Namikaze **gave me him as a character in my story.

Dung (pronounced young)- 5'11' looks similar to Shikamaru, but has very long girlish black hair that is unkempt. He is very lazy and pessimistic often looking at the bad side of things. He hardly shows personality and when he does his teammates get mad at him as he states the worst possible things to think of. He is a ninjutsu specialist that has a high affinity for lightning jutsu. This character was made by **adngo714**.

Arashi Kajiseito- 6'1'' with golden tan skin, short red hair with gold streaks. He has Sky blue eyes with a gold ring outlining his pupil. Has a dojutsu that enhances the sight of the person who uses it. Wears a normal Jounin uniform and has archers gloves. He has an affinity for fire and lightning jutsu. Uses them in conjunction with his Bow, and is pretty good at using seals for explosives. Happy go lucky joker of the group, but when the fighting starts he becomes quite serious. This character was made by** StormFirestar.**

Joe Gren- He is a large muscular ninja that has a western appearance and stands at 5'8''. He has short brown hair and brown eyes. He is a good Samaritan and often does the right thing for no particular reason at all. His weapon of choice is a large double-edged polearm. He relies completely on taijutsu and is just below the level of Gai. He was made by the first person to add me on PSN even though he doesn't have an account,** JOHNXgambit**.

So yeah there will be another character in that mix, but he will be my very first OC that is not inspired by anything else.

Any way I had a nice conversation the other day with **Leaf Ranger** about the StarCraft universe and it came down to discussing our favorite species. His was the Terrans and mine was of course the Protoss.

So this got me thinking about whom everyone else thinks is the best one. I put another poll on after I realized that getting one of the species from StarCraft, as a summons would make it too easy for Naruto.

I also put up my very first challenge, which is a Naruto and StarCraft crossover that I wanted to do, but I don't have enough time to do it. Plus I am going to make a Naruto and Hellsing crossover sometime in the future. After this story and The Forsaken Fox.

Now with out further waiting here is the fifth chapter of my favorite story!

**Chapter 5: House of Cards**

Naruto wasn't in too great of a mood as he had been kicked out of the hospital earlier by that slut of a attendant.

'She's lucky that it's illegal for ninja to attack civilians or I would show here what a real demon is capable of.' Thought Naruto as he decided to make his way to a training field to practice.

Not to mention he could probably just go see Hinata later that night. She was only in the hospital for precautionary reasons associated with concussions.

He would actually be able to get some alone time too if she stayed awake all night like people who get concussions are supposed to do.

Anyway back to his training he was using his shadows to improve how in sync he was with them. If they fought against the same person it would be like fighting a team of ninja who had been together for their entire life.

In a sense it kind of was as Naruto had been himself his entire life, but he didn't like to think of it that way.

There were unlimited possibilities when it came to his shadow manipulation. They didn't even have to take the form of himself if he wanted.

After some experimenting he could turn them into animals, but when they became animals he had no idea how to move with them as he wasn't familiar with how they were built.

'Yo, Zeratul how close are the physiology of a human and a Protoss?" asked Naruto as a thought came to him.

"_**Our species were remarkably similar in how we were built. There are some fundamental differences as we lacked the power of speech and our bone structure was a little different. Overall though we were much more closer in that sense than with the Zerg." **_Stated Zeratul.

"So would it be difficult for a human to learn how to move like a Protoss?" asked Naruto.

"_**Yes it would be, but it isn't impossible. I have come across humans who could do almost as much as my species. It took much training, but the results were promising." **_Replied Zeratul.

"Well then let's hope this works!" said Naruto out loud as he made a hand sign and focused on one of his shadows.

Slowly the shadow began to morph into a taller figure that was pretty skinny. It had bluish gray and scaly skin. It had bright blue eyes and was wearing golden armor that covered most of its body. It had long dreadlocks coming out of its head that reached down to the knee.

It was a Protoss Zealot now and Naruto couldn't believe what he had achieved. He focused his mind completely on the shadow and took control of its movements. This was a mistake however as he took one step and promptly lost control of the body.

"_**You will need much more training than that to be able to control the body of a Zealot. The leg structure is quiet different so moving is much more different and the balance is weird too." **_Said Zeratul.

"Thanks for the help, but being able to turn my shadows into Zealots will be really intimidating. Plus by the looks of you guys, you were made for close range combat and being able to move fast." Said Naruto out loud.

"_**You do realize that you have been talking out loud this entire time?**_" said Zeratul in his mind.

"Well how else am I supposed to talk to you?" asked Naruto out loud again.

"_**I am in your mind. All you need to do is think it and I will hear it." **_Replied Zeratul.

'Oh that makes sense.' Thought Naruto.

"_**Yes, not get back to training. I want you to focus on the physical aspects of your training. Get stronger, faster, and work on your wind chakra control. Then with the Nara's you will focus on Shadow Manipulation."**_ Said Zeratul.

'That sounds like a good idea Zeratul!' thought Naruto as he made a bunch of shadow clones to work on wind manipulation, while he stuck a large boulder on his back and proceeded to be chased by a bunch of his clones.

It was all-dark along the rooftops of Konoha as Naruto moved from building to building in the shadows. He knew that there were many ninja on patrol in the village since there were numerous other ninja from enemy villages in the village.

Not to mention the Sandaime had flipped out when he discovered what had happened to Hinata in the Forest of Death. However there wasn't anything he could do about it since it was during the chuunin exams and no one was actually taken by Kumo.

So here was Naruto moving along the shadows completely out of sight. He wasn't too fast moving through the shadows, but he had learned that he was completely undetectable like this. Especially at night as during the day one could easily spot his shadow moving across the ground.

However at night he just blended along in the darkness moving unseen through the endless void. He eventually arrived outside Hinata's room and looked inside to see Hinata staring at him through the window, however she couldn't tell it was him as she was just looking out into the darkness.

Her eyes shot open however when she saw a mass of darkness begin to rise out of the roof from the building across the street.

She was about to scream out when she saw that it took the appearance of a certain blonde that she knew and loved. Although she would never be able to bring herself to say it to his face.

She opened the window and allowed him to jump into her room from across the street. "What are you doing here Naruto?" asked Hinata.

"Well I wanted to see how you were doing Hinata. I was worried for you, it was bull how that bastard beat you. I would've been here sooner, but the attendant wouldn't tell me what room you were in and demanded that I leave." Said Naruto in a clearly annoyed voice.

"That's okay Naruto, but why did you come see me now?" asked Hinata.

"Well I knew that you would be up now. Plus it allows us to talk to each other and not have to worry about anyone else interrupting us." Said Naruto with a smile.

This in turn made Hinata blush deeply as she realized that it was true that they were all alone. The things going through her mind would even make a Spaniard blush with embarrassment.

"You okay Hinata? You were spacing out for a second." Asked Naruto as she sputtered out an answer.

"I'm okay Naruto…" she said shyly.

"You have no idea how long it took me to get across the village to see you. I told the Hokage about what happened and he has twice the amount of Shinobi protecting the village, so I had to use one of my shadow jutsu to get here." Said Naruto as he sat on a chair.

"Is that how you came out of the shadows on the roof?" asked Hinata.

"Yep! I learned it before the Chuunin exams, but I haven't been able to use it much. It makes it impossible to sense me, but you can still see the shadow when it moves across the ground so it doesn't work during the day." Explained Naruto.

"But at night it is invaluable as you can practically sneak into anywhere using it as long as there are shadows." Said Hinata as she lay down on the bed and looked at Naruto.

"That's true Hinata. So I have been meaning to ask you something since we got out of the forest." Said Naruto nervously as a blush came to his cheeks.

"What is it Naruto? You can tell me anything…I won't judge you." She said as she gave him a smile.

It was then that Naruto realized that he had to do something before he asked her the big question. How could he ever possibly allow her to go on a date with him if she didn't know some of the most important things about him.

He had to tell her now, before he went any further. This would have to include the Kyubi, his father and mother, and a very sage like being inside him from another planet and time.

"Well there are some things I need to tell you before I ask you the question I was going to initially ask you. You see there are some things about me that most of the village knows except the people of our generation and younger." Started Naruto as he glanced at Hinata to see her looking at him questioningly.

"Whatever it is I'm sure it will not change the way I think of you." Said Hinata as she softly smiled at him.

"Just let me tell you first before you already decide Hinata. You know how the Kyubi was killed by the Yondaime 13 years ago?" asked Naruto, but he was silenced as Hinata began to hug him.

"I already know Naruto! You were chosen as the savior of our village and yet most of it treats you worse than trash!" cried out Hinata as Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.

"What…but how did you know?" asked Naruto as he could honestly not believe that Hinata knew this whole time and was still his friend.

"I overheard people talking about you Naruto…the things they said about you made my blood boil. They have no idea what type of person you really are!" cried out Hinata.

"But I lied to everyone! Why don't you hate me for not telling you myself?" asked Naruto.

"Because I understand how you can be so afraid of rejection Naruto. Each day that pain festers in me and there is nothing I can do about it!" she said as Naruto hugged her back.

"There are two more things I need to tell you Hinata, then I will ask you a question that I want you to answer with knowing all of the facts." Said Naruto as Hinata nodded her head.

"Now the Yondaime is perhaps one of the most noble Kage there ever was and he would never ask anyone to do something that he wouldn't do himself. I have always wondered who my father was and one day it hit me like a ton of bricks. Why would the Yondaime take some random kid from the streets and put so much trust in him." Started Naruto as Hinata went wide eye in realization.

"You see he didn't chose some random kid. He chose the one kid he knew he would always be able to trust. That one kid was his son born just before the Kyubi attacked. That boys name was Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze." Said Naruto as Hinata's mind went blank at that information.

"You are the son of the Yondaime?" said Hinata as if it was statement, but she was really just trying to confirm that information.

"Yes I am, it was hidden from me to protect me from my fathers enemies." Answered Naruto.

"But if the village had known you wouldn't be hated like you are Naruto." Stated Hinata.

"Yeah, but I would probably be like Sasuke if they knew. I doubt you would be my friend if I acted like that." Said Naruto as Hinata laughed a little.

"Yeah, but you aren't and that is all that matters. Aren't you mad at your father for sealing the Kyubi in you?" asked Hinata.

"Well at first I was upset, but then I realized that he only did what was best for the village. Although I wouldn't have done the same if I was him." Said Naruto.

"What was the other thing you said that I needed to know about you?" asked Hinata.

"Oh well that my powers come from some eternal source of energy known as the Void. It is basically a bloodline as it will be passed down to my descendants." Said Naruto.

"So is it going to be like the Nara's bloodline then?" asked Hinata.

"It is a little different than the Nara's but it is more potent and suited for combat. The Nara's bloodline is suited more towards support." Said Naruto.

"What was the question you wanted to ask me then Naruto?" asked Hinata as she noticed Naruto blush and look a little uncomfortable.

"Well uh…I was uh…wondering if um…yeah if you uh…wanted to go hang out over this month? You know…alone...just you and me?" Naruto managed to get out.

'Is he asking me if I want to go on a date with him over break?' squealed Hinata in her mind as she believed her dream was coming true as he face turned a bright pink.

"I mean only if you want to go on a date with me." Whispered Naruto as he was so nervous of if she would reject him or not.

"YES! I mean I would love to go on a date with you!" she shouted at first, but then calmed down.

"Really! Thanks Hinata, I'll do something real nice for you too!" said Naruto in an excited tone as he hugged Hinata. She suddenly went limp in his arms and he noticed that she had passed out on him with a smile covering her face.

'Ehh…that is my Hinata.' Thought Naruto as he laid her down in bed and quickly left the room in case someone heard Hinata yell yes.

Naruto got as much sleep as he could that night so that he would be awake to see the Shikaku-Sama. This would be perhaps his first real step to becoming Hokage, if he wanted that hat then he would need support.

What better support to have than the Jounin Commander of Konoha and perhaps one of the greatest strategist ever, at least until Shikamaru grows up a bit. This was going to hopefully be a very good political move in the future.

He had been hearing rumors from older shinobi that the civilian council was gunning for his head and to keep low if he knew what was good for him. They weren't trying to intimidate him, they were just looking out for him as the civilian council could get to anyone.

This was due to the efforts of one man on the council and his name was Danzo Shimura. The man was said to have been Hiruzen's rival and quit the shinobi forces after his one branch of ANBU were disbanded.

However, there were rumors that he still controlled ANBU, but no one could prove this, as the man was paranoid as hell that someone would catch him in the act. There had been a few investigations, but the man had never been charged.

Naruto had even heard that at several points of his childhood the man had offered to take him under his wing and turn him into a weapon for Konoha. That sent shivers down his back just thinking about it.

Those fears of him being a weapon would hopefully end with him becoming friends of the Nara clan. Hopefully they wouldn't blow any of the secrets he was going to tell them, but he never knew when it came to most people.

He dressed in a new uniform he had just bought to look professional to the head of Nara's. It was a black ANBU uniform with a tight urban cameo combat vest for seal tags and smaller weapons. The ANBU uniform had two crests on it to represent his clans, one was the swirl of the Uzumaki and the other was a blue orb surrounded by yellow lightning representing the Namikaze.

He was wearing black ANBU pants with kunai holster on his right leg for convenience and on his knees and elbows were urban cameo kneepads. The uniform he wore also came with a red and black cape that hid his face from view.

He jumped out his window and headed to the Nara compound that was on the other side of Konoha. It was pretty easy to find as it was right by two other compounds that were Chouji and Ino's clans.

He arrived there with a few minutes to spare and waited patiently at the gates for Shikamaru to come out and greet him. It was just like Shikamaru to be about five minutes late.

"It's about time you got out here Shikamaru!" said Naruto as Shikamaru lazily put his head out his door.

"Yo Naruto! My dad said that he will meet with you. I can't help but wonder what you wish to speak to him about though." Said Shikamaru as he ushered Naruto into the gates.

"Well I'm not just talking to him. I want you to be in there and listen to what we have to say." Said Naruto as they walked into a formal looking room with two couches in it.

"I thought you clans liked to use mats?" asked Naruto as he sat down on the one of the couches.

"Well you can't sleep on a mat can you?" asked Shikamaru boredly.

"I guess that makes sense for a Nara." Smiled Naruto the door opened. Naruto quickly jumped to his feet and bowed his head to Shikaku.

"So this is Naruto Uzumaki, I was wondering when I would first meet you. Shikamaru has said some pretty strange things about you lately." Said the older Nara.

"Nara-sama, I have come here to discuss two things with you today. I believe what I have to offer will be quite beneficial to your clan." Stated Naruto.

"Really? This doesn't have anything to do with your sudden use of Shadow Techniques have anything to do with this?" asked Shikaku in interest.

"Yes and no, there is something else that I must talk to you about after I tell you about my Shadow Manipulation." Stated Naruto.

"Okay, then what is it that you want to discuss then young Uzumaki." Asked Shikaku.

"I would like to ask for an exchange of techniques and training so that I may improve and so may your clan. I have a large collection of techniques that I am pretty sure are not being used anywhere else." Stated Naruto as Shikaku studied him for a second.

"If that is so then there is little that my clan could actually offer you in forms of training, so what is it that you really want for some of your techniques?" asked Shikaku.

"You are right, I know for a fact that neither you or I will be able to use all of each others techniques, but I believe that in exchange for a few modified versions of my techniques order of protection by an influential clan of Konoha can go far for someone trying to become Hokage." Stated Naruto. Shikamaru couldn't believe what he was hearing from this Naruto.

He knew that the blonde gennin had changed quite a bit lately in the way he acted, but this was just beyond what he was suspecting. Two weeks ago he didn't believe that Naruto had what it took to be Hokage.

Now though he was cunning, smarter, strong, and a politician at heart. He knew that the Nara clan couldn't learn most of his techniques, but the ones he modified were probably very effective still. All he wanted in return was protection and support from his clan…something they probably would've done for much less.

"Those are some generous terms there Uzumaki, we have given support for far less so why do you feel so generous?" asked Shikaku.

"Well to be frank I wasn't sure if you would hate me like everyone else in the village for what I contain. Besides that isn't the only order of business that I wish to discuss with you." Explained Naruto.

"What are you talking about? What is it that you contain Naruto?" asked Shikamaru in curiosity.

"Are you sure you want my son to know Uzumaki?" asked Shikaku.

"Yes, I do believe it is time that a another person of my generation knows of my…burden." Stated Naruto.

"What burden is that Naruto?" asked Shikamaru as he was paying attention fully to Naruto.

"That the Yondaime never killed the Kyubi, but sealed it into his son." Said Naruto. This statement made both Shikamaru and Shikaku go pale, but for different reasons.

Shikamaru just believed that Naruto knew who the Kyubi was sealed into, but Shikakau already knew that Naruto held the Kyubi…meaning he was the son of the Yondaime.

"Is that true Uzu…I mean Namikaze?" asked Shikaku as Shikamaru now went wide eyed again as he realized the implications of what Naruto had just said.

"You are Minato and Kushina's son?" asked Shikaku in shock.

"Of course I am…we both have blonde hair, my mom was due to give birth to me that day, and who else would my father use to seal the greatest of the demons in?" asked Naruto.

"You are they Kyubi's host and the Yondaime's son? Troublesome blondes…" stated Shikamaru as he just sat down again and closed his eyes.

"Anyway that brings me to my next order of business. After I become Chuunin I will be having Sarutobi announce my heritage to village. I will need support from at least three major clans to allow me a seat on the council for the Uzumaki-Namikaze clan that I will create." Said Naruto.

"However if the civilian council tries anything before the exams, I will need your support then. They are greedy and will probably try to put me through the C.R.A. I don't plan on being subjected under their rule so I would like for you to stick up for me if I announce my heritage early." Added Naruto

"So I'm guessing you want me to talk to Chouza and Inoichi about a future alliance between clans? Then you would like to put the civilian council in their place?" asked Shikaku.

"Exactly, I will declare all three clans allies and friends of the Uzumaki-Namikaze. After this all three of your clans will be considered Noble Clans since my mothers clan the Uzumaki are a family of Daimyos from Whirlpool." Stated Naruto as Shikaku looked at him analyzing all that he said.

"Very well…I guess you want me to tell both Inoichi and Chouza about this deal? Besides I wouldn't mind sticking it to those pompous civilians." asked Shikaku.

"That would be best, and this is a SSS-rank secret that no one may know until I announce it to the public." Stated Naruto.

"Very well Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze you are now formerly a friend to the Nara Clan. When do you wish to exchange Jutsu?" asked Shikaku.

"Tomorrow if you don't mind?" asked Naruto.

"No that is no problem at all…by the way there is someone in Konoha who might want to take you as his apprentice. He is Jiraiya the Toad Sage, he trained your father and most likely would jump at an opportunity to train you too." Said Shikaku.

"Oh really, you mean the Godfather that was gone for my entire life?" asked Naruto in a curious tone.

"Umm…yeah he should be around the Hot Springs this time of day." Stated Shikaku nervously.

'I may have just killed Jiraiya…' thought Shikaku as he said good bye to Naruto.

'So my dear old Godfather is here in the Leaf and I know his exact location? I think it is time I got some revenge and make him feel guilty for never visiting.' Thought Naruto as jumped from roof to roof.

It took Naruto just less than a minute to make it to the springs and quickly spotted a wild mane of white hair peeking over the fences of the Hot Springs.

'That pervert! I will make him rue the day he ever peeked on a girl!' thought Naruto evilly.

Naruto quickly sunk into a shadow and started to slowly make his way to Jiraiya. He moved from shadow to shadow to avoid detection and was soon right below the pervert.

"**Hidden Leaf Thousand Years of PAIN!" **yelled Naruto as he shot out of the shadow and jabbed Jiraiya in the butt. Jiraiya was launched into the air holding his rear end and howling like a girl and landed right in the middle of the girls in the hot spring.

"That's what you get for peeking on girls, and thanks for being such an awesome Godfather!" shouted Naruto as he laughed and decided to go to Ichiraku's for some ramen.

"Yo Teuchi! One bowl of chicken ramen please?" asked Naruto as he sat at the bar and smiled at Teuchi and Ayame.

"So Naruto I've been hearing some rumors going around about a certain brat making it to the Chuunin Exam Finals. Any idea who it is?" asked Ayame with a knowing smile.

"Let me think? Does he have blonde hair, blue eyes, whisker marks, and the power of being awesome? If so then I guess it could only be me then." Said Naruto as he smirked at Ayame.

"Well you better win brat! I have over 5000$ on you to make it past the first round, that is a 10 to 1 odds. Then I have 8000$ on you making it past the second round, which is 20 to 1 odds. Last I have 10,000 on you winning the finals, which 30 to 1 odds. So if you don't win I'm going to castrate you!" said Teuchi as he brought out the Ramen and put it in front of the flabbergasted Naruto.

"A-are you s-serious?" asked Naruto as processed what Teuchi had just said.

"Of course I am brat! We have been saving up for the past 8 years now so that when you entered the exams you would win it all!" said Teuchi as if he knew it would happen.

"But that is 23,000 dollars! How can you have so much faith in me?" asked Naruto as tears came to his eyes.

"You may not know it brat, but you may be an Uzumaki, but in our hearts you are an Ichiraku too and part of our family." Said Ayame as she smiled at Naruto.

Naruto had tears in his eyes as he looked at the two people who considered him an actual part of their family. He jumped over the bar and hugged both of them as much as he could without hurting them.

"Thank you…I will win I promise that! I will not disappoint you two, believe it!" shouted Naruto.

"Alright just get off me now. I don't really like all the touchy feely things about this!" said Teuchi as Ayame laughed at both of them.

Soon they were back in their respective places and Naruto was just chatting with them about the secret they would learn after the Chuunin exams. Just when Naruto was about to leave a person stepped behind Naruto and grabbed his shoulder.

"Are you the one who vaulted me into the hot springs?" asked the man.

"Are you by any chance Jiraiya of the Sannin?" asked Naruto in response.

"Why yes I am now answer me." Stated Jiraiya forcefully.

"First tell me why I am named after one of the characters in your books." Responded Naruto forcefully as he turned and glared at Jiraiya.

"W-what?" asked Jiraiya as that comment though him off his game.

"You know exactly what I mean, lets talk somewhere else. The Roots in the leaf run deep." Said Naruto cryptically, but Jiraiya got the message as his eyes widened.

Jiraiya ran through a few hand signs and grabbed Naruto before they both disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

They both reappeared on top of the Hokage's monument and Naruto now stared at Jiraiya with an expectant look on his face.

"What?" asked Jiraiya as he didn't like Naruto's face.

"Why is it that this is the first time that I am meeting my Godfather when I have been alive for 14 years now?" asked Naruto.

"How did you know?" asked Jiraiya in shock.

"It wasn't too hard after I finally learned how to use my brain. Now answer my question, if I like it then there will be no hell to pay." Said Naruto in response to his question.

"It's not surprising you found out who your father was. You remind me of him greatly, not just your looks. I'm sorry I wasn't there for most of your life. I know it isn't the best excuse, but I have had to run a spy network through the nations." Said Jiraiya.

"So you are like Konoha's resident spy master?" asked Naruto skeptically.

"Yes I am! I know what the enemy will do before they know it themselves! Not only that, but I am an author of several best selling books through the Elemental Nations." Exclaimed Jiraiya in a proud voice.

"Yeah, I already know about your books. I prefer your first though…it is much better written and seems to be a book written by a man of great values. You should've continued with books like that instead of just working on that smut you call literature." Said Naruto as Jiraiya looked a little ashamed.

"Most people don't believe in such principles anymore. They care more for the smut than books of ideology and a new world." Said Jiraiya in a saddened voice.

"So why have you returned now then?" asked Naruto.

"I returned so that I could report on my findings of Orochimaru and so that I could finally start to train you. Your father wanted you to learn three techniques from me and I intend to do so." Said Jiraiya.

"Well why should I allow you to help me in the first place? I have been doing just fine with Kakashi and myself. I have the Naras helping me on some jutsu during the next month." Said Naruto.

"True, but Kakashi is training the Uchiha now, since he needs it more than you at the moment. I can teach you techniques that would make you the envy of others. Two of them were made by your father, but I can't fully do the last one." Said Jiraiya, trying to convince Naruto to allow him to teach you.

"Yeah I know Kakashi is with Sasuke, but that is needed considering who Sasuke is fighting. I can look after myself, and my techniques are quite sound at the moment…but if you want to make it up too me you better not slack off." Stated Naruto seriously.

Jiraiya's face broke out into a big smile as he started to run through a few hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu!" yelled Jiraiya, suddenly a poof of smoke separated Naruto and Jiraiya.

When the smoke dissipated a large toad was between the two. It had a large scroll in its mouth. It quickly dropped the scroll and disappeared from the clearing in another cloud of smoke.

"So what is this?" asked Naruto as he eyed the large scroll.

"This here is the Toad Summoning contract! After signing it with your blood you will be able to summon toads to help you with just about anything. The toads have always been allies of Konoha and the boss even helped fight the Kyubi." Explained Jiraiya.

"Well let's get this done then." Said Naruto as Jiraiya opened the scroll. Only two names had been signed yet, they were Minato and Jiraiya.

Naruto bit his finger and signed his name in blood on the scroll. It glowed bright crimson for second before fading into black like it was ordinary ink.

"So now I can summon toads with that jutsu you used earlier?" asked Naruto.

"Don't get ahead of yourself Naruto. It will be some time before you will be able to summon anything big. It is pretty hard to perfect the art of summoning." Explained Jiraiya.

"Well are we going to get to training? You aren't the only person I will be training from, at 8 I do my physical regime, at 11 I will be training with the Naras, and at 3 I can train with you before I will finish with extreme chakra training." Said Naruto as Jiraiya nodded at him.

"Sounds like a sound plan. Right now though I am going to show you the basics of the summoning jutsu, so lets go find a large clearing to train in." said Jiraiya.

"Got it Pervy Sage." Said Naruto as he followed behind Jiraiya. He didn't notice the dreaded look that came over Jiraiya's face when his back was turned.

'Damn brat has no idea how much he is like his mother and father. I guess I will be training two Hokages in my lifetime…which makes a new record for Konoha!' Thought Jiraiya.

"So Brat the first thing about summoning is that you must focus on what you wish to summon otherwise you won't get the right toad for the job you have. You may get one meant for scouting when you are in a fight or you might get one for fighting when you need a scout. Thankfully this is the easiest part of summoning." Said Jiraiya.

"So as long as I focus on what I want to summon then I should be able to summon it?" asked Naruto.

"Not exactly. Some toads require massive amounts of chakra to summon and some require exact amounts to be summoned so control is very important. However, to summon a boss or one of equal strength it takes a massive amount of chakra to do." Said Jiraiya.

"Okay so what are the hand signs to the jutsu so I can start practicing?" asked Naruto as he was excited to finally start.

After getting the hand signs from Jiraiya, Naruto practiced doing them as fast as he could to get it in his muscle memory and to make it extremely quick.

"Are you going to do the jutsu or just practice with the hand signs all day?" asked Jiraiya.

"Sometimes it isn't the strongest jutsu, but the fastest that wins the day." Said Naruto as he went through the hand signs again.

"That is exactly what your father told me when I taught him this jutsu." Said Jiraiya as he smiled at Naruto.

"Well I think I have the hand signs down now! Let's do this!" Yelled Naruto as he went through the hand signs and called out the jutsu before slamming his hand on the ground.

There was a large cloud of smoke about three times bigger than Jiraiya. When it cleared it revealed a toad the size of a bear with a large shield on its back.

"Jiraiya why did you summon me?" asked the confused toad.

"What? But how did you manage to summon a large toad on your first try?" asked Jiraiya as he kinda ignored the toad for Naruto.

"I've been practicing my control a lot lately. What's your name?" asked Naruto to the toad as he ran up to it.

"You summoned me?" asked the toad with surprise in his voice.

"Yep! You're the first toad I've tried summoning." Smiled Naruto.

"That is quite impressive. What is your name?" asked the toad.

"I asked you first!" said Naruto loudly to remind the toad that Naruto had indeed asked.

"Oh yes my name Gamashiru. Now what is your name?" asked Gamashiru.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze! It's nice to meet you Gamashiru." Smiled Naruto as he shook the toads hand.

"So you are the son of Minato? I met him once when I was but a tadpole. He mistakenly summoned me on his very first time. It is nice to know that this might one day be considered to be a family tradition." Said the toad.

"Wow that is awesome! I guess that means I'm better than what my dad was at this age." Said Naruto as he smiled widely.

"Don't get full of yourself brat. Your father learned this jutsu at the age of 10 right after he graduated the academy." Said Jiraiya.

"My father graduated at the age of 10?" asked Naruto, clearly surprised by this information.

"Yes it is along with two others who I took on as my team. One of them died and the other retired after making chuunin at the age of twelfth. He and your father were very good friends even after he retired." Said Jiraiya.

"Really? Who is it?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Sorry, but you won't find out until after the chuunin exams." Said Jiraiya as Naruto pouted.

"Dang…hey I have something that I need to ask you." Said Naruto.

"If it is about your fathers friend then forget it." Said Jiraiya as Naruto scowled at him.

"No, it is about me announcing my heritage after the chuunin exams. I'm going to talk to Jiji about it and ask him if he will. However, I might have to reveal it earlier if the civilian council learns of my shadow bloodline. If that happens will you back me up?" asked Naruto with hope clearly evident in his eyes.

"Kid I wasn't there for most of your life. Now that I'm here I don't plan on leaving you to those wolves. If you reveal your heritage I will stand by you like I should've your entire life." Said Jiraiya as he smiled at Naruto.

"Thanks Pervy Sage!" said Naruto brightly as he sunk into his shadow before Jiraiya's fist connected with his head.

"Going to have to better than that." Said Naruto as his head rose out of the shadow 6 feet away.

"That's a good escape jutsu." Pointed out Jiraiya.

"Yeah, but it is really slow and people can follow my shadow out in the sunlight. Well I'm going to get going to talk to Jiji! Seeya Pervy Sage!" said Naruto as he sunk into his shadow and left the clearing.

"I can't sense his chakra at all when he is in that shadow." Said Jiraiya softly as he left to do more research.

Sarutobi was breezing through the paperwork for the day using a couple of shadow clones. Without having to do the bane of all kages Sarutobi had time to see his family, train, visit the academy, and most importantly read his favorite books.

It just so happened that he was reading the so called book when his window burst open a familiar blonde landed in the room in front of the desk. Quickly Sarutobi stashed the book away so that Naruto didn't see it, but luck was not on his side.

"Are you telling me that you read that smut that Pervy Sage writes too? Why is it that everyone of my teachers is a pervert?" asked Naruto to no one.

Meanwhile the Hokage was processing what Naruto had said and was blushing from being caught in the act. "S-so I'm guessing that you met my student Jiraiya today?" asked Sarutobi.

"Yes and we discussed a few things. You see I'm planning on doing something before or after the chuunin exams. It has something to do with what I discovered a couple of weeks back about how much I resembled the 4th Hokage." Said Naruto. He noticed sweat begin to form on the Hokage's face.

"I realized that there was no way for the 4th to choose a child that could turn either bad or good. So he would have to choose someone from a family that he could trust. There were no clan children born on that day, but there was a child who was born nameless to a nameless family. I realized that that was me." Stated Naruto slowly.

"What are you trying to say Naruto?" asked the nervous Hokage.

"That the only reason for keeping everything such a big secret was to protect the son or daughter of an important man. Now since there wasn't a single clan child born on this day and the rest are still civilians…well that means that it would be a Hokage's child. So I came to the conclusion…that I am Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze." Stated Naruto at the end with such firmness that it surprised the old man.

"You are correct Naruto…please don't hate me for lying, but it was to protect you from your fathers enemies. You would've been hunted everyday of your life by assassins from other villages." Explained the Hokage desperately.

"I understand Jiji…I realized that right away. You have always been there for me in my times of need. I will always see you as my Grandfather." Smiled Naruto.

"Thank you Naruto…would you like to take up the name of your family now that you know about it?" asked the Hokage.

"Yes I will Jiji, but I want to wait until the Chuunin Exams if I may. That is unless the civilian council decides to do something about my new shadow bloodline." Said Naruto.

At this the Hokage started laughing confusing Naruto quite a bit. "That's funny now that you brought it up. The Council wants a meeting to discuss your new bloodline in Konoha and what they should do with it." Said the Hokage.

"Already?" asked Naruto with wide eyes. 'It's only been one day since the second exam ended!'

"Apparently a ninja witnessed you use your shadows for combat and the Civilians are making a big deal about it." Said the Hokage.

"Whatever, when is the meeting so I can show up and personally put them in their place?" asked Naruto.

"It is in three days at Noon. Be here an hour early so you can walk in with me." Smiled the Hokage.

"Thanks Jiji, I have to go train now! I'll stop by soon though!" yelled Naruto as he walked to the window.

"Wait! About your inheritance your parents left you a mansion, some jutsu, all their possessions, and 345 million dollars. You will receive it the second you are promoted to chuunin." Stated the Hokage with a smile on his face.

"WHAT!" yelled Naruto, this information caused him to stumble back a few steps. Unfortunately he was right by a window when he stumbled back. Thus him falling right out the window and the Hokage on the verge of a heart attack from him learning of his inheritance.

"Damn Jiji!" yelled Naruto as he picked himself off the ground.

"Guess I should go do some extreme chakra control…then go see Hinata!" said Naruto as he jumped through the village to go train.

THREE DAYS LATER

Naruto's last three days had gone by quickly as he spent most of the time training with Jiraiya, the Nara's, or Hinata now that she was back on her feet. Surprisingly Naruto picked up a few higher-level jutsu from the Nara's while he taught them a new clone that was like a regular bunshin, but still retained the ability to transfer memories.

It couldn't be used for training, but in spying it was invaluable. It cost very little chakra and formed from their shadow.

Jiraiya and him had been practicing the summoning technique and Naruto could easily summon smaller to medium size toads. The largest one he had summoned this far was the size of a small house.

Jiraiya told him that after the council meeting they would go and try to summon Gamabunta. If he managed to do that by the end of the week then Jiraiya would teach him a jutsu that his father created.

Hinata and him had been hanging out every night for the past three days and had been warming up in the mornings together. They weren't really dating, but when Ino had cornered Hinata, to see where she went each morning and night, she started calling them beauty and the beast to Naruto's displeasure.

The only things they had done so far were hug a few times and hold hands when they were alone. He couldn't help be nervous around her. She just made his heart race lately and he loved it.

Back to what was going now, we find Naruto standing outside the council doors with the Hokage on his right and Jiraiya on his left. Inside he could hear banter from many different people about his fate in Konoha.

'Didn't know I was that popular.' Thought Naruto sarcastically.

"Okay I will enter first and Naruto you and Jiraiya will enter when I call for you." Said the Hokage as Naruto nodded. The Hokage entered and all arguing in the room subsided for second before everyone started to scream again, but Naruto couldn't hear what they were saying since the doors had just closed.

"You sure you want to do this brat?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yes I am…I'm tired of them walking all over me in life. Besides I think you might find that I might have more support than what you think." Said Naruto as Jiraiya smiled at him.

They waited for about five minutes before they received word that they were to enter the room. When they entered all the talking immediately stopped, all of the civilian councilmen were glaring at Naruto while the shinobi looked at him with indifference.

"Hokage-sama, what is that thing doing here? I wasn't told that he would be attending this meeting?" asked one of the braver councilmen.

"I'm here since this meeting is all about me and my bloodline. It is in my rights as a ninja of Konoha to attend any council meeting that directly involves me." Said Naruto as the civilians glared at him.

"We are getting side tracked from why this meeting was called. We were discussing the use of the C.R.A. on the boy so that we can have more users of his bloodline in Konoha." Said and injured looking man in the back.

Naruto immediately recognized him as Danzo since the two had talked in the past before. He had even come offering to train Naruto, but the Hokage found out and put a stop to it before it could start.

"We should take seamen samples to impregnate women and make a new clan." Said one of the civilians.

"That is against the laws of Konoha to take seamen from a living bloodline user to be used for breeding. If the C.R.A. is to be used then Uzumaki is the one who has to carry it out." Stated Shibi Aburame.

"What and allow women to be ravished by this thing?" asked the another civilian council member.

"You can all say Kyubi if you want. There is no one in here that doesn't already know the truth. That the Kyubi is sealed in me and you civilians don't know the difference between a kunai and a scroll." Stated Naruto.

"You see! He even admits to being the Kyubi!" shouted the only women council member. Naruto had seen her before when she had picked Sakura up from school…it was her mother.

"My apprentice here did not once state that he is the Kyubi. He is right as I am the our leading sealing expert here I can inspect the seal and can tell that it is just as strong as ever." Said Jiraiya to the shock of everyone, but Chouza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Why would you take on that thing as an apprentice when you could take on Uchiha-sama?" asked one of the civilians.

"I don't know…maybe I owe him it." Stated Jiraiya with a smile.

"We demand that you train Sasuke Uchiha!" yelled one of the civilians as the rest nodded in agreement.

"Do you realize who you are trying to order? I am Jiraiya of the Sannin! I have the largest most thorough spy network in the Elemental Nations. I have enough power to fight a Kage and you a bunch of civilians are demanding me to train someone?" said Jiraiya angrily.

"He is right! The civilian council has no say in whom a shinobi trains. They only have a say in the C.R.A. and the creation of clans in Konoha." Said the Hokage.

"It doesn't matter who they want in the C.R.A. as I am not taking on more than one wife. My heart will belong to one person only and that is final." Said Naruto to the outrage of the civilians and Danzo.

"You can't refuse the C.R.A. demon!" yelled one of the civilians.

"Well normally you would be correct, but I was looking through a few documents earlier and found an interesting law about the C.R.A. You see as long as a shinobi has the support of three noble clans and the support of the Hokage then he can opt out of the C.R.A." said Naruto with a wide smile.

"What are you talking about? There is only one noble clan in Konoha and that is us the Hyuga." Said Hiashi Hyuga.

"Well you would be correct, but as of yesterday there are now three more noble clans in Konoha." Said Naruto with a smile.

"How can that be and which clans are they?" asked one of the civilians.

"Well let me think for one second? First there are the Nara, then the Akimichi, and last the Yamanaka clans." Said Naruto as all three stood up.

"I Shikaku Nara, head of the Nara clan give my support to Naruto as a friend of the clan." Said Shikaku.

"I too give my support to the young man." Smiled Chouza with a jovial smile.

"I with my friends give my support to the Gaki." Said Inoichi.

"Your clans aren't Noble Clans so that support doesn't matter." Yelled one of the civilians.

"As of last night we are." Said Shikaku with a smirk.

"But how?" asked Hiashi.

"What is the one rule for being a Noble Clan Hiashi?" asked Chouza.

"You must be allied to the family of a current or past Daimyo." Said Hiashi.

"Well there you have it. Last night our three clans signed a deal with the heir of Whirlpool Country. He is the last of the line of Daimyo's and a clan here in Konoha that we believed was extinct." Said Shikaku.

"Impossible all of Whirlpool and the their royalty were wiped out during the Second Ninja War!" yelled one of the civilians.

"That is not true as the last of the two clans is in this room right now." Said Jiraiya. Many looked at him in confusion, but the rest of the clan heads and Danzo looked at Naruto in surprise as he smirked a bit.

"I immeditaly petion that Naruto Uzumaki is to be placed in my training program so that I may bring out his full potential!" yelled Danzo.

"No! Naruto isn't some tool that can be used like that!" yelled the Inuzuka Matriarch.

"It doesn't matter anyway as I have taken Naruto on as my apprentice and after the chuunin exams he will be my full time apprentice just like his father was before me." Stated Jiraiya with firmness.

Now the Civilian Council had been wondering what the Shinobi Clan Heads were talking about ever since the heir of two clans was announced to be in the room. If that was the case then why would they start fighting over the rights to train some demon orphan.

However, when Jiraiya announced that he had trained the Demons father. Even they weren't dense enough to not figure out who is father really was.

"Impossible! There is no way that this thing is the son of our beloved 4th Hokage!" yelled Sakiri Haruno…aka Sakura's mom.

At once all of the civilians started screaming about lies the demon made up and how it was manipulating all of the clans into working for it.

"Silence! Naruto is indeed the son of the 4th Hokage, Minato Namikaze. His mother was Kushina Uzumaki, the last of the Uzumaki clan and the heir of the throne of Uzu. This makes Naruto the sole heir of the Uzumaki-Namikaze clan, this also makes any clan that is allies with his clan to be of Noble Status." Stated the Hokage making all of the Shinobi be silent, but the civilians persisted.

"What proof of this is there? Minato and Kushina were never even together before the Kyubi attack." Yelled Sakiri again.

"The marriage was done in secret a year and a half before the Kyubi attack during the 3rd Shinobi War. I along with Jiraiya, Tsunade, Yugao, Kakashi, and Hiashi were all present for the marriage. Right here is the documentation if you would like to see it." Stated the Hokage as he handed out fake versions of the marriage license and the birth certificate.

"Well if everything is wrapped up here, I have to get back to training today. Hopefully I'll be able to summon Gamabunta by the end of the day…by the way this is a SSS-rank secret that is punishable by torture and death if you tell anyone." Said Naruto as he smiled at the civilians.

'Take that you dicks.' Thought Naruto as he left with Jiraiya on his tail to begin training.

Naruto and Jiraiya went to one of the largest training grounds that Konoha had to offer in preparations for the next big step that he had in summoning. He had to summon the Toad Boss and make a verbal contract with him so that he could summon the toads in combat.

Jiraiya said that not many could impress the Toad Boss, but those who did gained a valuable ally for life.

"So I just a put a lot of chakra into the Jutsu and I should get the Toad Boss?" asked Naruto hesitantly.

"Something like that…" smiled Jiraiya.

"Not one to give too much away huh?" said Naruto as he went through the seals for summoning while drawing out a massive amount of chakra.

"Summoning Jutsu!" yelled Naruto as he slammed his hand on the ground.

Suddenly he felt himself shoot up into the air as a cloud of smoke surrounded him. He could see nothing, but he could tell that he was at least six stories above the ground on a soft, yet firm ground.

"Jiraiya! Why did you summon me now?" yelled the giant toad, that Naruto must've realized was Gamabunta.

"It wasn't me Gamabunta! It was my new apprentice who summoned you." Shouted Jiraiya as he cowered under the glare of the Toad Boss.

"You expect me to believe that you get an apprentice and in three days he can summon me? Where is this gaki that Gamashiru was talking about anyway?" yelled Gamabunta.

"I'm right here Mr. Boss sir." Said Naruto as he walked in front of Gamabunta's eyes so that he could see him.

"You look familiar Gaki. Has Jiraiya ever introduced us yet?" asked Gamabunta.

"No, but you have seen me before, but that was almost 14 years ago on the day I was born. You helped my father seal a certain angry fox into me and left me at the mercy of Konoha." Said Naruto as Gamabunta's eyes widened.

"Your Minato's child! Look kid I may have helped seal you, but that doesn't mean you can guilt me into believing that you are worthy of using my clan." Said Gamabunta as his one eye glared at Naruto.

"I wasn't counting on it at all Sir. I will earn the right to use the your clan through any means necessary!" said Naruto as he matched Gamabunta's glare with a defiant stare.

"You have guts to stand up to me kid. Okay I will let you use us toads for one battle in the future and if that toad says you are worthy of fighting with us then I will allow you to become a member of the clan." Said Gamabunta.

"You got a deal Sir." Said Naruto as he smiled at Gamabunta.

"Good, Jiraiya next time you summon me it better be for a good reason." Yelled Gamabunta as he poofed away.

Naruto fell and landed in front of Jiraiya who was smiling at Naruto. "I'm guessing that went well then?" asked Naruto.

"That went really well Gaki. He usually makes you ride him for like 3 days straight if you want to join the Toads. Now all you have to do is summon one during a fight and act like you normally do to get them to work with you." Said Jiraiya.

"Well now that we have done that. What kinds of training are we going to do now?" asked Naruto.

"Oh you're going to like this. I'm going to teach you one of your fathers most prized jutsu…the Rasengan." Said Jiraiya as Naruto became wide eyed at the mention of one of the most powerful techniques in the world.

**Time Skip Three Days Before the Finals**

Naruto had been training harder than ever in the past three weeks. Even with the Naras training him he didn't stop for a single day and practiced a couple of jutsu until he found them up to the skill he needed them at.

Two of them were shadow jutsu that focused on defense and support since he had few defensive attacks. One of them was based off a Nara jutsu and the other was an area affect attack that he thought up after hearing the history of Konoha from the Hokage.

He was pretty sure the Neji would absolutely hate to fight this jutsu as it made a Hyuga face one of their greatest fears. Hopefully, Hinata was lying to him about that.

Speaking of Hinata, he was on his way to pick her up at her Compound so that they could go to the Akimichi's BBQ with the rest of the Rookie 9 as they were celebrating for the people who were moving on.

This was also the day where Naruto and Hinata showed everyone that they were sort of going out. Nothing had really happened besides a small kiss and neither of them asked the other out, but it was kinda understood.

So here we find Naruto in a black t-shirt with a large red swirl on the back and khaki shorts., outside the Hyuga Compound. Personally he didn't mind it, but he didn't like exposing himself too much. The shirt was tight and once could tell that he was ripped beneath it.

Ironically his compound was just down the street from the Hyuga's. He hadn't started living in it yet as he still had to wait until he was a chuunin to receive his inheritance, but he didn't mind waiting.

In fact there was no guarantee that he would even be able to become a chuunin in the next exam.

Finally after much reminiscing the gates to the compound opened and Hinata came out with a small blush on her face. She was wearing a white and blue sundress that came to just below her knees.

"Hey Hinata-chan! You're looking lovely tonight." Said Naruto with a blush on his face as he offered her his hand.

"Thank you Naruto-kun." Said Hinata as she took his hand.

The two walked through the streets of Konoha together while engaging in small talk. It didn't take long to get to the BBQ as it was around where all the other compounds were.

Inside were Ino, Sakura, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, and Chouji. Naruto hadn't expected Sasuke to show up as the boy was probably trying his hardest in order to beat everyone in the exams.

"Hey you guys!" shouted Naruto as he pulled a blushing Hinata into the restaurant.

"Naruto what are you doing pulling Hinata in here like that!" yelled Ino.

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto as he pulled out a seat for Hinata and sat in the one next to her.

"Don't you see that you made Hinata uncomfortable by pulling her in here like that? How did you even know if she even wanted to come in yet?" asked Ino.

"What do you mean? We've been holding hands ever since I picked her up?" asked Naruto extremely confused by Ino's question. I mean she is the gossip queen of Konoha and she couldn't figure out that they were dating.

"What?" asked Ino.

"Troublesome…Naruto and Hinata have been dating since like two weeks ago. Get in the loop Ino." Said Shikamaru.

"What do you mean get in the loop?" asked Ino.

"Shino and me have both known since the day Hinata came to training with a very large grin on her face that we haven't seen before." Said Kiba.

"Shikamaru told me." Said Chouji.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" asked Ino angrily.

"You never asked." Deadpanned Shikamaru.

While Ino was questioning no one noticed the downcast look that Sakura had on her face until Naruto had to point it out.

"Hey Sakura what's wrong with you?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know Naruto. It's just that I've been training for the past month in hopes of getting Sasuke to notice me, but I don't think he ever will." Said Sakura in a very sad voice.

"Don't worry Sakura! You just have to keep getting stronger and when you kick Sasuke's ass he will have to notice you." Smiled Naruto.

"Thanks Naruto." Said Sakura.

"What do you mean I smell like cabbage!" yelled Ino as she glared at Kiba.

"I mean exactly what I said! You smell like cabbage!" yelled back Kiba as the two glared at each other.

"Jeeze…why don't you two just get a room already?" suggested Shikamaru.

What did you say!" yelled both Kiba and Ino as they slammed their fists into Shikamaru's head.

"Troublesome…" whispered Shikamaru as he rubbed his head.

"So yeah…what do you want to eat Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto as he smiled at said girl.

"I think I might get a salad Naruto-kun." She said shyly.

"You sure? I'm paying you know?" asked Naruto as Hinata nodded a bit.

"Okay…but I'm getting them famous BBQ ribs here!" said Naruto as Hinata smiled at him.

"So are the two of you ready for the exams?" asked Naruto after they had all gotten their food.

"I've been working on anti-poison techniques since my first fighter is a puppet user. They normally focus on using poison in conjunction with blades. I believe that I am ready." Said Shino.

"It's too troublesome to fight…I might just forfeit." Said Shikamaru as the others just sighed at his attitude.

"You do that and we will all kick you butt!" yelled Sakura as she glared at him.

"Troublesome…what about you Naruto? You are after all fighting against Neji and he probably is one of the stronger ninja in the exam." Said Shikamaru.

"I'm not too worried about my fight with Neji. I have been practicing with the best Juken user of our generation after all!" smiled Naruto as he squeezed Hinata's hand, making her blush from his praise.

"That's true." Said Kiba too as he smiled at the blushing Hinata.

"Well I think that is it for tonight! I'm planning on taking these next three days easy so that I'm at my best." Said Shikamaru as he stood up with Chouji and Ino following him.

"You always take things easy!" said Ino.

"So?" responded Shikamaru.

"Well I guess Hinata-chan and I have to get going to since I doubt her father wants her out late." Said Naruto as both he and Hinata got up.

"Very well I guess it is time to leave." Said Shino.

"Yeah, seeya guys later!" said Kiba loudly.

"Bye Shino and Kiba. I hope we see each other at the exams." Said Hinata as Naruto and her left the restaurant after paying.

"So did you have fun Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto as they walked back to her compound.

"Yes I did Naruto-kun. It was nice seeing everyone in a circumstance where we didn't have a chance to die." Said Hinata.

"That's true…well that just means we will have to do this more often. So you are coming to the exam right?" asked Naruto.

"Of course I'm coming the exam. I have to support my boyfriend right?" asked Hinata with a small giggle.

"Haha that is true! I would be so upset if you didn't come that I would let Neji beat me! Or not? I would still beat the snot out of him for stealing that match from you." Boasted Naruto.

Hinata blushed a bit at that and squeezed his hand a bit. This in turn made Naruto squeeze her hand in return starting a small squeeze war between the two that got them smiling.

When they go to the compound they stopped and looked at each other before slowly closing the distance and kissing each other for a few seconds. When they pulled apart Naruto pulled Hinata into his chest softly and held her in his arms for few seconds.

"I feel so safe in your arms." Mumbled Hinata as she pulled him even closer.

"Do you now? I never knew that…I guess I'm just going to have to hold you even more now." Smiled Naruto as he squeezed Hinata a bit harder.

After a few more minutes the two split apart after giving each other one more kiss and bid each other goodbye. Hinata went into her compound and Naruto jumped across the roofs to go back to his apartment.

'Just three more days and I won't have to live in this pig pen anymore.' Thought Naruto as he entered his room.

Unaware to him and the rest of the villages gennin attending the exams; a storm was coming just poised to strike at the village in its weakest hour. Luckily the Hokage was ready for a battle that would most likely be one of his greatest yet.

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Well there you guys go…the longest chapter I have ever written. Sorry for not putting any battles into the chapter, but don't worry there will be many battles next chapter and I will include everyone of them with out skipping a single one.

Now yesterday I was looking at all the people who have read my stories over the past month and realized that not just Americans read fanficiton, but people from around the world. I would like to send a special shout out to all of you from another country that have read my story.

Remember I have put up a poll and a new challenge on my Profile page so don't forget to check it out.

Thanks for reading my story!

**AUF WIEDERSEHN! **


	6. Gladiators

So here I am with the 6th chapter of The Fox's Shadow and just to let you know I have enjoyed writing every word this story. Writing Fanfiction just makes me feel alive and whole! It is a great satisfaction to me just to have one person tell me that they enjoyed reading my chapter.

As long as I have time I will continue to write and hopefully I will have finished at least 5 stories by the time I stop. Or better yet I never finish writing and continue to write till the day I die. Wouldn't that be something?

Well anyway the Poll I have up right now has had quite the bit of voters and the Protoss have a small lead over the Hybrids. The Zerg and Terrans are a close third and fourth though.

So here is the next chapter and it will be taking place during the Chuunin Exams. Now I know I usually skip fights that are canon, but for once I will not be doing that approach and will include them all, but with some twists. It all really depends on how long this chapter is by the end of it.

Check my first challenges on my profile page! I would really like to see what anyone can do with them!

So enjoy!

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**Gladiators**

Naruto shifted a little as he stood by his fellow gennin in front of a very large crowd of civilians, ninja, Daimyo, and future clients. It was there job to secure future clients for their village.

However, not a single gennin was in it for the clients. Every single one of them was there for a their own personal reasons.

Some were there for a mission of utmost importance, others to prove themselves, to kill, for fate, for revenge, and because they were afraid of their mother. Any guesses who for the last one?

Naruto looked over the competitors closely. Shino was looking at nothing in particular just staring with no expression on his face. Shikamaru looked bored and was grumbling a bit, but Naruto couldn't hear the words.

Gaara was grinning with anticipation for the battles to come while his brother and sister kept glancing at him. Although, he would be taking glances at him too if he was right by him.

Sasuke was right next to him with a smirk on his face, eager for his fight against Gaara. Naruto was quite surprised that both Kakashi and Sasuke had arrived on time as he was sure Kakashi would wait until the last moment.

The one he wanted though was at the other side of the line of ninja. He stood there with a proud arrogant look on his face that made Naruto want to shove a kunai down his throat.

He had studied the Juken by having Hinata come at him with everything she had. Although she was a little better than the arrogant jerk and tended to get Naruto quite a bit.

It was worth it thought Naruto as he thought about all the training he had done over the month with Shikaku, Zeratul, Jiraiya, and Kyubi a bit. The damn Fox was just being a jerk and all Naruto wanted was to get along.

Anyway back to the contestants they were still missing one and that was the Kusa Gennin. Probably got killed doing something stupid like attacking Gaara…yeah that was probably it.

That Gaara was probably even more psychotic than Zabuza and that was saying a lot. However, beneath that maddened face was deep loneliness that Naruto was quite familiar with.

The proctor from the second exam landed in front of the participants and looked them all over before starting with his speech.

"The eight of you are the only ones who shall be participating in today's exam. The other contestant was found dead earlier this month inside Konoha. The rules here will be the exact same as they were during the preliminaries. Now we will get these exams started as early as possible." Said Hayate as he looked to the stands.

"The first match is between Neji Hyuga and Naruto Uzumaki! All other contestants are to return to their seats and await for their match!" he declared.

"Do you think Naruto will be alright?" asked Ino to Chouji as they watched the contestants walk up the stands.

"Yeah, I think so. I mean Naruto has definitely gotten better from the academy. Remember when he took us down all by himself?" said Chouji as he munched on some chips.

"Of course Naruto is going to be alright! That knuckle head doesn't know when to quit and he's fighting for his girlfriend!" laughed Kiba as Hinata blushed beside him.

"Shut up Kiba! Don't you see that your embarrassing Hinata? But, it is kind of romantic if you think about it." Said Ino as she got hearts in her eyes.

"You're one to talk." Mumbled Kiba as Hinata was blushing quite a bit.

"What do you think Hinata?" asked Chouji.

"I know Naruto will win." She whispered out to Chouji that made him smile.

"That's good to hear." Smiled Chouji.

"Of course Naruto will win! The Dobe is able to even give Sasuke a good fight!" yelled Sakura.

"I thought you didn't like Naruto?" asked Ino.

"Well things change Ino…he helped me a bit this month and even got Sasuke to start talking to me. Although I have no idea how he did it." Said Sakura as Ino looked at her with jealousy.

"So why has Sasuke been better since the chuunin exams?" asked Chouji.

"I think he believes that if he acts like Naruto then he will get stronger or something like that. I actually saw him smile a few times over the past month when he came back for the weekends." Said Sakura as the others gasped in surprise.

Meanwhile by Tenten and Lee.

"He doesn't stand a chance against Neji. Neji is a prodigy that has proved himself on many occasions in the past. This kid doesn't know what he is getting himself into." Said Tenten.

"I don't know Tenten…Naruto is burning with 'Flames of Youth'! I wouldn't put it past him to at least make this quite the fight to see!" said Lee loudly.

"Maybe…" said Tenten.

With the Hokages.

"So a Hyuga versus a civilian born Ninja huh? I hope this Uzumaki can at least put up a little bit of a fight before losing." Said the Kazekage.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that Kazekage-Dono. I have seen Naruto train on many occasions and it would be a surprise for him to go down without a fight." Said the Hokage.

"Interesting…what gives you such confidence in his abilities?" asked the Kazekage.

"He is currently the apprentice of my one student Jiraiya and is learning from the Nara clan in their abilities." Said the Hokage making the Kazekage's eyes widen.

'He is Jiraiya's new apprentice? It might be smart to postpone the invasion to see how strong the brat is! Also he might have the shadow bloodline that the Nara's have if he is learning from them.' Thought the Kazekage.

"Then I guess this will be a very good fight then." Said the Kazekage.

"Indeed it will be Kazekage-Dono." Said the Hokage. 'Or so should I say Orochimaru…'

Back on the stadium floor.

"You should just give up Uzumaki. Fate has decreed that you will lose here today." Stated Neji.

"As if…if I remember correctly you are only here because of a lucky attack." Said Naruto as he smirked at Neji.

"Luck had nothing to do with it. I was fated to win and so I did." Stated Neji.

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night. Hinata beat you in the Juken and made you look like an amateur." Naruto mockingly stated.

Neji glared at Naruto with such hate it made many civilians flinch. However it had no effect on Naruto as he was used to worse glares than that. "You should watch your tongue peasant.

Naruto just smirked back and got into his taijutsu stance and waited for the proctor.

"Are both contestants ready?" asked the proctor as Neji got into his juken stance an nodded.

"Very well! Naruto Uzumaki vs. Neji Hyuga…Hajime!" shouted the proctor as he jumped back.

Neji wasted no time in charging at Naruto and was upon him before he could respond. Naruto's eyes widened as palm strike landed upon his chest before he could react.

Neji smirked in victory as he had defeated the boy in jus a few seconds after the match began. However, his smirk became as scowl as Naruto exploded in a mass of black energy.

It was in fact shadow chakra, it fell to the ground and slid across the ground until it passed into the shadows of a tree.

"Such speed…it has greatly increased from last month." Said Naruto as he walked out from behind the tree.

"Substitution…" stated Neji.

"Not quite…I've been here since my shadow entered the arena." Said Naruto as he made a hand sign and created two shadows of himself.

"Numbers will do you no good." Stated Neji as he activated his Byakugan.

"Don't worry I don't just rely on my clone jutsu like I use to. I have more than enough to beat you here today." Said Naruto as his two shadows surrounded Neji.

"What are you waiting for then?" asked Neji.

"For all the pieces to be set into position." Said Naruto as he smirked at Neji.

"It doesn't matter as fate has decreed me to win this match." Said Neji.

"Fate has nothing to do with us Neji. We choose our own destiny!" shouted one of Naruto's shadows as it threw a kunai at Neji.

Neji simply leaned his head back simply dodging the kunai as his smirk widened.

"I hope that isn't the extent of your strength. Otherwise this will be done quicker than what I believed." Said Neji with such confidence it made Naruto want to gag.

"Don't worry It isn't even a fraction of what I can do." Smirked Naruto as he made a few handsigns before sucking air in through his mouth.

"Futon: Great Breakthrough!" shouted Naruto as he blew out a concentrated blast of air at Neji.

Neji ducked down underneath the blast of air and charged at the real Naruto in an attempt to attack the blonde. Naruto himself jumped high into the air and ran through a few more seals before sucking in more air again.

"Futon: Drilling Air Bullet!" yelled Naruto as he shot out four concentrated balls of wind at Neji.

Neji jumped and weaved his way through the balls of wind that made mini craters when they connected with the floor of the arena. 'Have to avoid those…if I get hit he might be able to break a bone.' He thought.

"Is that all your going to do? Run away from me and launch these weak jutsu at me?" asked Neji as he glared at Naruto who was perched in one of the few trees.

"No not running…more like testing your limits and seeing any weakness in your form. My two shadows are both analyzing anything you do. What they see…I see." Said Naruto.

"Is that so? It still has nothing on the Byakugan, while you can see me from any direction…I see all of you from my one perspective." Said Neji.

"Thanks for the lesson! It's not like I haven't lived in Konoha all my life and didn't know that already." Said Naruto with sarcasm laced in his voice.

Neji got ready to charge Naruto before he saw the two shadows of Naruto charge at him from the corner of his eyes with kunai drawn.

The clones took no time at all to reach Neji and quickly started to engage him in close combat. Neji took at two of his own kunai and started to block blows from each of them.

Maybe in another world where Naruto never took his training seriously he would be having trouble against Neji. But this was not that world and Naruto was much more competent and was making the Hyuga feel nervous.

The real Naruto watched from the trees with a smile on his face as he engaged Neji through proxy of his clones. It basically was him as he saw through their eyes and controlled what they did.

Discreetly he made a single handseal and smiled wider as he jumped from the tree and charged at Neji.

Neji saw Naruto approach through his Byakugan as he fought off the two shadows.

"Futon: Exploding Air Bomb!" yelled Naruto as he jumped into the air and launched a massive ball of wind at Neji.

Neji's eyes widened to extreme proportions as Naruto's shadows fell apart and slithered away from him across the ground. Neji quickly focused his chakra as the ball of air came upon him.

The ball of wind exploded with such force that everyone in the audience felt the blast of the explosion. Dust kicked up around the stadium from where the explosion hit the ground.

Naruto eyed the cloud of smoke as his two shadows reformed around him identical smirks on all three faces. It didn't take long for the dust to clear and when it did Naruto could make out the form of Neji standing in the crater made from the explosion.

Neji had a few cuts on his body, but overall the damage was at a minimal compared to what one would believe.

"I was wondering if you knew that technique." Said Naruto.

"So you knew I would dodge that attack? I shouldn't be surprised since you've been working with a clan traitor." Grinded out Neji.

"Funny coming from the Branch Member attacking the Heiress of your entire clan. If I am not mistaken, by the laws of the clans of Konoha she has authority to call for your death." Said Naruto.

"That is exactly what makes her weak as a leader of the clan! One so weak should not be allowed to be the head of the Hyuga!" shouted out Neji.

"And you claim that is weak? To show compassion to her family she is too weak to be the Head of your clan? You make me sick! She loves you like a brother and you show nothing more than utter hate for her!" yelled Naruto in anger.

"She killed my FATHER! If she wasn't so weak then she would still be here! All of those Main house members are responsible for his death! They forced him to die for my Uncle against his will! It was his fate to die that day and nothing could be done to stop it!" yelled Neji.

"How can you possibly believe that is was Hinata's fault that your father died! She was three years old at the time and had only just started to learn the Byakugan?" questioned Naruto.

In reply Neji glared at Naruto with as much hatred as he could muster. 'Who is he to question me? I am part of one of the greatest clans and he is nothing more than an orphan who got lucky in passing the exams.' Thought Neji.

"Let's see what is better…the Byakugan or the Boidoririsu (1)?" said Naruto as his two shadows merged into the ground and flew towards Neji.

Neji charged back at Naruto and jumped over both shadows and continued to Naruto. Just before connecting with Naruto he felt his foot get gripped. He looked back and saw a mass of black connecting to his foot.

Neji twisted his leg out and jumped high into the air as black tendrils came out of Naruto's mass of black shadows on the ground. They followed him high into the air and stopped just a millimeter short of reaching Neji.

"It seems your shadows do have a range after all." Said Neji.

"True…at least during the day. It doesn't really matter as they have a range greater than you." Said Naruto as his shadow tendrils flew at Neji again.

Neji skillfully evaded the tendrils and used the Gentle Fist to disrupt the chakra in the ones that came too close. Meanwhile, Naruto was flying through a long sequence of handseals that was noticed by only the upper level ninja in the stadium.

"So he is using that jutsu." Stated Shikamaru from the contestant box.

"Is this some type of explosive jutsu again?" asked Shino from beside him.

"No, this is perhaps the only jutsu that he knows that is totally made for support." Said Shikamaru.

"That's a surprise. I was positive that the Dobe only used Jutsu that exploded or did something cool." Said Sasuke as he walked up beside them.

"Don't worry it is still pretty cool, but he has only done it once and it was on a very small scale." Said Shikamaru.

Neji was fairing well against the shadow tendrils as he slowly made his way to Naruto. He wasn't blind and easily saw the handseals that were being made at this very moment.

Just then a tendril wrapped around one of his wrists and pulled it away from his body. This opened him up to being wrapped up along every limb of his body by the tendrils. 'This won't stop me!'

"Kaiten!" yelled Neji as he spun in a large dome of chakra while dispelling the shadow tendrils.

As the Kaiten dispelled and Neji walked out. He saw that Naruto was done and was holding a black ball of energy in his hand.

"Too bad you have already lost Neji. I wonder how good of a fighter is when they lose their eyesight! ENDLESS VOID!" yelled Naruto as he slammed the ball of black energy on the ground.

The ball of energy exploded in a bright flash and started to cover the ground in a mass of black shadows that flew across the entire stadium before climbing to the top of the arena. The only thing people could see were each other as the mass of shadows covered everything in pitch black.

"Now for the final touch!" shouted Naruto as the shadows at the top of the arena began to flow across the top of the stadium. Slowly the sun was blocked from view as people began to scream in panic from the darkness that was slowly starting eat at last remaining sunlight until the sun was completely covered and darkness fell across everyone's sight.

Neji looked everywhere with his Byakugan in the perpetual darkness that now surrounded him and everyone else. The screams had stopped as everyone struggled to hear the match.

"So Neji…how does it feel to have your eyesight gone?" whispered Naruto right into Neji's ear.

Neji spun around and lashed out in Naruto's direction only to miss. "Where are you?" shouted Neji in anger and panic.

"I'm disappointed…aren't your eyes supposed to be all seeing or is that only a myth?" asked Naruto.

"Shut up! You think you are so special don't you? You are nothing more than a failure that is unable to achieve anything! I heard about that mission of yours…the one where those two missing nin died." Stated Neji as he spun around in the dark.

"What do you know of that? Muttered Naruto.

"That both of them died due to your inaccessibility to change. You failed them as you will fail again. You will never be able to change…that is your fate and you should just accept that!" declared Neji.

"You don't know anything…in the past three months I have changed beyond what you can ever imagine. My fate is what I make it! I will never allow someone else to decide my fate again! I will rise above it and shape my own being!" declared the voice of Naruto loudly through the mist.

"Got you…" smirked Neji as he charged where he believed Naruto was only to miss a palm thrust.

"Missed again…" said Naruto as he slammed his fist into Neji's face.

Neji got back up slowly and tried to find his bearings in the darkness surrounding him.

"How do you like the Endless Void, Neji? It completely covers the world in darkness, so thick that no light can shine from it. Only one who is in sync with the Void has any chance to navigate." Said Naruto again from below Neji.

Neji jumped back only to be grabbed by the back of the head and slammed into the ground. The crowd heard the slam that had just occurred and involuntarily shuddered at how hard it sounded.

Once again Neji was crawling back to his feet after taking such a hit. Thankfully he couldn't see, cause he was sure that he'd be seeing three Naruto's and they wouldn't be clones.

"I am going to break you of your ideas of fate Neji. One way or another you will be leaving this battle with a new understanding of life." Said Naruto.

"Coward…get rid of this technique and we will see who fate is with today." Growled out Neji.

"You mistake me Neji I am not going to defeat you with this technique…oh no that won't do. I only pulled this one out in order for you to feel what it would be like blind. It's obvious that it worked as your knee's are shaking and your heart is beating erratically." Taunted Naruto as light broke through the Void.

Slowly, but surely the darkness ebbed away and Neji and Naruto were revealed to the crowd once more. Neji had blood trickling down from his lip and a cut on his forehead.

Naruto had come away completely unscathed from the battle so far and was smirking with confidence of plans to come ahead.

"You should've kept that technique on longer." Stated Neji as he got into his stance.

"I don't need it anymore." Said Naruto as he charged at Neji.

Neji waited until the right moment and dodged the first attack only to be grabbed at his feet by a pair of hands that were sticking out of Naruto's shadow.

Then came an entire body out of the shadow with its fist cocked back. It let loose its attack and slammed into Neji's gut sending him up a few feet off the ground.

However, the shadow holding his feet didn't let go and brought him back to the ground and to Naruto's spinning back kick. It connected and sent Neji flying to the other side of the arena with a dark bruise on his face.

"You have no chance to win this match Neji. I'm not even at full strength right now and you can't beat me. What makes you think that you will win this match." Said Naruto as he walked over to Neji.

"I won't lose to you." Growled out Neji as he stood up.

"Then give me your best technique." Said Naruto as his shadows extended way from him in a massive black formless shape.

"It's already done…you are in my field of divination!" declared Neji as he charged at Naruto with even greater speed than he had before.

Neji launched his attack at Naruto's chakra points, but it was for nothing as Naruto's shadow shot up out of the ground and deflected every single attack Neji launched. Soon Neji's attack was done and Naruto hadn't taken a single hit from the his attack.

"How?" asked Neji as he jumped away from him.

"How did I deflect an attack that is said to be unavoidable at such range? It was easy after having someone demonstrate it on me all month." Smiled Naruto.

Neji glared at Naruto, but noticed out of the corner of his eyes two clones form a triangle around him. "Futon: Drilling Air Bullet!" yelled both clones and Naruto.

Knowing he couldn't dodge Neji did the only thing he could do and started to spin around in a rapid succession while releasing chakra. All three bullets of air hit the sphere of energy that was shielding Neji and dispersed on impact.

Neji stopped spinning and looked back at where he thought Naruto was and was surprised to see that Naruto was there anymore. "IT'S OVER!" shouted Naruto.

Neji looked up in surprise and noticed Naruto falling towards him at a rapid pace with a sphere of glowing blue energy in his hand. Knowing that he only had time to do the Kaiten again he started spinning.

"That won't help! Rasengan!" yelled Naruto as he slammed the sphere of blue energy into Neji's own dome of chakra.

For a few moments the techniques fought for dominance with each other while emitting a loud grinding noise. Suddenly Neji's dome of energy collapsed under the strain of Naruto's attack and exploded in a shower of energy.

Naruto jumped out of the cloud of smoke with a few scratches covering his body and dirt on his face from the attack.

The cloud slowly dispelled and revealed a heavily injured and barely conscious Neji laying in a crater from the attack. Naruto walked up to the injured ninja and looked at him with sadness.

"You and me are more alike than you know. I too have a seal on me that labels me as a monster in most of the village. If fate was set in stone then I would be nothing more than a beast wanting to kill for fun." Said Naruto sadly as Neji finally closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

"The winner of the match is Naruto Uzumaki." Declared Hayate as a quarter of the stadium clapped for the boy while the others were unsure of what to do.

Naruto walked up to the contestant box as the medics came out to tend to Neji. He passed Sasuke on his way up and wished him luck, but he knew that the chances of him beating Gaara were low.

He joined both Shino and Shikamaru up in the stands while the two congratulated him on his victory.

"What was that technique Naruto?" asked Shino curiously.

"Which one Shino? The Void technique or the Rasengan?" asked Naruto.

"I guess you can say both." Said Shino.

"Oh well the Endless Void just creates an area effect barrier that keeps things out like light and keeps things in such as noise. On a person who relies on his vision so much it can be deadly." Said Naruto.

"Interesting…that wouldn't work against a sensor though since I could still tell where you were the whole time. What was that Rasengan exactly?" finished Shino.

"It was a technique that took the 4th Hokage three years to make. I was able to finish it in two!" claimed Naruto with a big smile as Shino's eyes rose a bit at this.

"That's only because you have trained nearly every hour for the past month." Said Shikamaru boredly.

"It seems you already knew this Shikamaru." Stated Shino.

"I only did because Naruto's been exchanging techniques with our clan for the past month." Said Shikamaru.

"When are they going to start the next match?" they heard the shout of Kiba from across the arena.

"He does have a point." Agreed Naruto as Shino nodded his head.

"Calm yourself it is starting now." Said Shikamaru.

Sasuke and Gaara stood 10 meters apart glaring at each other as if willing the other to yield under their gaze. For many of the civilians Sasuke was their hero and were showing their support through banners and cheers.

As soon as the proctor had started the match Sasuke had launched shuriken at the immobile Gaara, but his sand intercepted them well before hitting him. In response Gaara started launching balls of sand at Sasuke who dodged them quite easily.

"Mother wants your blood Uchiha!" shouted Gaara as he launched another wave of projectiles twice as fast as before.

This time Sasuke was hard pressed to dodge the attacks and was rolling around just barely dodging the attacks that were getting closer and closer. Thinking fast he unsealed two demon shuriken and threw them at Gaara.

Both shuriken were deflected to both sides of Gaara and they flew behind him. However, Sasuke smirked with victory as he pulled wires attached to the shuriken.

Both the shuriken changed directions and started spinning around Gaara while the wires wrapped around Gaara's stunned body. The sand tried to come up and block the wire, but it was too late as Gaara's body was completely wrapped up.

"Katon: Fire Dragon Technique!" yelled Sasuke as he launched a dragon made of fire along the likes of the shuriken. The flames quickly consumed Gaara and soon one couldn't' make out anything in the raging inferno.

When the fire did clear there was nothing left, but a glass statue of Gaara left behind. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he looked around for the sand gennin, suddenly his eyes widened as he jumped high into the air to avoid tendrils of sand that broke through the surface of the ground.

Landing a few meters away he saw Gaara rise from the ground with the sand spinning around him like a storm. The glare that he held was more than enough to tell Sasuke that he almost had him.

Sasuke smirked in response of the glare and charged at Sasuke with speed far greater than what everyone else assumed. Gaara's eyes widened as he felt his sand take a blow from behind him.

Turning quickly he saw Sasuke quickly disappear once again before sensing yet another blow from behind. Then another and another before they suddenly stopped and Sasuke appeared in front of Gaara once again twenty meters away.

Gaara turned back toward him and glared once more.

"You are just as fast as that other kid. But you will need more than speed to defeat me." Stated Gaara.

"Don't worry I have more than enough techniques to defeat you." Said Sasuke with a smirk as he crouched down ready to attack.

Gaara in response sent a giant wave of sand at Sasuke who disappeared once more and appeared right under Gaara ready to strike. Luckily for Gaara some of his sand was just able to divert the kick, but was unable to stop Sasuke from sweeping his legs out from underneath him.

"How can there be two ninja from Konoha alone that can get past Gaara's sand?" asked a shocked Kankuro.

"If there are two gennin who can hurt Gaara then what can the Jounin here do?" asked an equally shocked Temari.

"Sasuke isn't even going all out right now. This might be his best speed, but he hasn't even activated his Sharingan yet. I think he wants to prove he can win without using it." Stated Naruto loudly enough for the siblings to hear.

"That's impossible!" declared Kankuro.

"Believe what you want, but this match is about to get interesting." Said Naruto as he turned toward the match.

Sasuke had been hits in on Gaara, but not on the level that Lee had. He wasn't fast enough to continue with the attacks like Lee, but he was fast enough to get away from the sand after attacking.

"Time to use it." Whispered Sasuke as he closed his eyes and activated his Sharingan.

"Yes, you will prove my existence Uchiha!" yelled Gaara as the ground around him cracked and more sand rose from the cracks.

"Katon: Great Fireball!" yelled Sasuke as he launched his signature attack at Gaara.

It had no affect like he predicted to get past Gaara's sand. But he didn't have any time to think on this as multiple tendrils of sand were already after him.

Thanks to the Sharingan he easily maneuvered around the sand on his way to Gaara to engage in close combat. Right before reaching Gaara though he was forced to jump back as a massive wave of sand rose up in front of him.

Quickly he jumped back narrowly avoiding the wave crashing into the ground he just was at. The wave followed him quickly and he was jumping back constantly avoiding the sand.

It was quite comical to see Sasuke get chased all around the stadium by Gaara's sand…at least Naruto was thinking that. Sasuke, however was not amused as the amount of sand Gaara had was keeping him back.

Sasuke ran up the wall as high as he could get and crouched down as he stared at Gaara's body.

Gaara glared at the Uchiha from down on the ground before summoning all of his sand to form a twister around him. This made many people stare at him in wonder of what he was about to do.

"My mother shall have your blood Uchiha!" screamed Gaara as he sand around him compressed into a dense shell of sand.

"What is he doing?" asked Kankuro as he stared at Kankuro in shock.

"He knows he can't do that yet!" said Temari in response.

"What do you think they mean by that?" asked Naruto to Shino and Shikamaru.

"I think it means that something big is going down today. Be ready at a moments notice…that may be all it takes in the end." Stated Shikamaru as Naruto and Shino nodded in agreement.

"You really think that you will be able to protect yourself in that dome of sand? It's time I showed everyone my own new technique." Sated Sasuke as he went through a few hand seals.

Lighting covered his hand as a loud sound filled the stadium. It sounded like a bunch of birds chirping at a rapid pace and caused some people to cover their eyes.

Meanwhile with the jounin of the groups. "You taught him that move Kakashi?" asked Gai with a hint of anger at Kakashi.

"It was the only technique I could afford to give him Gai. I taught him a few defense jutsu, but this is the only attack one that I believe could help him." Explained Kakashi.

"Aren't you afraid that he might misuse the technique?" asked Gai.

"No…not anymore at least. Ever since the Forest of Death he has got much better. I even got him to state that he would ask for help from me when it comes to taking on his brother." Said Kakashi.

"That's impressive considering how he's lived his life since that day." Stated Asuma after overhearing the conversation.

"Yes it is and I think it is all because of Naruto." Said Kakashi with an eye smile.

"This is the end!" yelled Sasuke as he charged down the wall at the immobile ball of sand with his Sharingan spinning.

His hand cut through the wall and dirt leaving a trail behind him as he drew near to the ball. A few feet from reaching the ball three spikes shot out of the sand, but thanks to his Sharingan he was able dodge them and slam his fist right through the sand.

Silence spread through the stadium as Leaf nin had their eyes wide, Sand nin hidden in the crowd were pale, and Gaara's siblings looked ready to cry at the sight before them.

Blood was slowly running down Sasuke's arm from the dome of sand as he smirked in victory. However, that wasn't the end of Gaara or the match.

"What is this warm substance?" came Gaara's voice. "Is it blood? MY BLOOD! MY BLOOD!" screamed Gaara as the dome of sand started shifting wildly.

Quickly Sasuke pulled his arm out and jumped back narrowly avoiding the arm of sand that now was sticking out of the dome. "I WILL KILL YOU UCHIHA!" shouted Gaara as the rest of the sand morphed around him covering half his body in sand and giving him a tail and a very large arm.

The worst parts about the transformation were the eyes that were now yellow and shining with madness. His smile was sadistic and promised death to all that stood in his way.

Before he could react Sasuke was slammed by Gaara's fist as the crazed gennin disappeared in a large boost of speed. Sasuke recovered and threw three kunai at Gaara, but the gennin raised his sand arm up and blocked the attack.

Sasuke followed the kunai in and attempted to get behind Gaara, but the gennin wasn't willing and used his tail to smack Sasuke back away from him.

"SAND SHURIKEN!" yelled Gaara as he launched a bunch of bullets of sand at Sasuke.

Sasuke had no time to do anything, but cross his arms over his chest and take to full impact of the attack. Blood dripped down his arm as he uncrossed them and stood up to face Gaara.

'I guess I will have to use the Chidori to finish him.' Thought Sasuke as he made another one.

Sasuke didn't waste time and charged Gaara again at full speed intending on winning the fight. Gaara charged himself intent on ripping Sasuke apart.

The two passed and Gaara's sand arm was completely severed leading Sasuke to smirk in victory, but it soon changed to horror as Gaara just grinned and grew his arm back.

"Die!" yelled Gaara as he was upon Sasuke before he could react. The result of this blow would knock Sasuke clear across the arena and into the wall creating a crater a foot deep.

Gaara approached Sasuke as the black haired gennin struggled to get to his knees. Judging from the blood coming out of his mouth he was suffering from internal bleeding and would likely be able to fight much longer.

Sasuke slowly stood back up and faced Gaara. Said jinchuriki had a sick grin on his face as he raised his arm and slugged Sasuke into the wall again and again.

Just before the final blow could be dealt, Gaara felt himself become immobile. He glanced down at his feet and saw his shadow connecting to a large man in the arena.

"The match is over! Gaara of the Desert is the victor!" called out Hayate as many in the crowd were stunned by the fight.

"NO MOTHER DEMANDS HIS BLOOD!" yelled Gaara as he struggled against the shadow at his feet.

"Gaara that is enough! Stand down now!" yelled the Kazekage in a deep voice.

Gaara looked at his father and growled for a second before the sand on his body slowly started to fall off his body. Soon he was back to normal except a hole in his shirt from where Sasuke's Chidori had injured him.

He turned around and shunshined up to the contestant box where he gave Naruto an evil grin. Meanwhile, medics were rushing Sasuke off the battlefield trying to heal his injuries.

"Naruto be careful of Gaara…something isn't right about him." Said Shikamaru.

"I know, but Gaara and I are more alike than you know Shikamaru." Said Naruto as Shikamaru's eyes widened upon the revelation that Gaara is a jinchuriki.

"How could he beat Sasuke like that?" stuttered Sakura in horror as Ino herself looked scared at what just happened.

"Damn…does Naruto even have a chance against someone like that?" asked Kiba in shock and horror, unaware of the fact that he was scaring Hinata.

'Please be safe Naruto.' She pleaded as she looked at Naruto standing alongside Shikamaru.

"Well you know what that means then Shikamaru!" Naruto exclaimed as Shikamaru looked at him in shock.

"I don't know Naruto…I think I might just surrender." Said Shikamaru boredly.

"Nonsense Shikamaru! Some kuinoichi actually take their training! I'm sure she isn't as easy as you think she is!" yelled Naruto as Shikamaru looked at him in confusion by what he said.

"Why did you sa…" started Shikmaru before being interrupted.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!" screamed Temari as she glared at Shikamaru with absolute hate.

"You dic…" started Shikamaru again before Naruto kicked him over the edge of the railing.

"Have fun Shika!" yelled Naruto as Shino chuckled silently.

"That was quite evil of you Naruto." Said Shino.

"He needed a reason to fight…now he is fighting for his life against an angry female. If anything motivates him this would be it." Said Naruto with a smile on his face.

"I'm sure it will work." Stated Shino as they watched Temari stalk across the arena with hate in her eyes.

"Is it safe to assume that you won't believe me that my friend said those things just to make sure you came at me to kill me?" asked Shikamaru hopefully.

"I am going to rip it off and feed it to a weasel." Gritted out Temari.

"Ehh…troublesome." Said Shikamaru.

"The third match will be between Temari of the Sand and Shikamaru of the Leaf! Hajime!" declared Hayate as he disappeared just in time to miss the huge wave of wind that was heading at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru jumped back behind a large tree to shield himself from the attack. "Damn that Naruto." Cursed Shikamaru.

"Get out here and fight like a man!" yelled Temari as she heaved her large fan up again and launched a second attack.

The winds buffeted the tree Shikamaru was behind and he could feel cuts being formed in the tree when they impacted, but luckily it held firm. He made a handseal and sent his shadow out to capture his opponent.

Temari saw the shadow quickly approaching and jumped back to avoid it. For the next few seconds the two played something similar to tag. That was until the shadow suddenly stopped a foot away from Temari.

"So that is the range of your attack." Stated Temari as she made an indent in the dirt.

'As long as I stay here there is no way for him to get me.' Thought Temari as she attacked Shikamaru's tree. Only this time there was a different result as the tree collapsed due to the pressure of the attack.

Shikamaru rolled out from underneath the falling trunk and jumped to next while narrowly avoiding yet another attack that was a bit weaker than the last.

"Stop running!" yelled Temari as she took yet another wave at Shikamaru.

"This girl is crazy!" said Shikamaru as he made a sign with his hand and closed his eyes in thought.

'Where the hell is he?' thought Temari as she lost sight of her pray during her last attack.

Just then a glint from the tree line caught her attention as a kunai raced toward her throat. Quickly she brought her fan up an blocked the attack, but it did it's job as Temari didn't notice Shikamaru appear in front over her aiming to attack her.

Temari was caught surprised, as Shikamaru was just a few feet from hitting her with his face. However he wasn't quick enough as Temari dropped her war fan and summoned two smaller fans and attacked with an even quicker jutsu.

The blades of wind cut into Shikamaru for a second before he suddenly blasted apart in mass of black matter similar to the blonde gennin from earlier.

Her eyes widened for a second before feeling a powerful punch to the face by Shikamaru who had used the clone to get in close. She flew a few feet back before stopping suddenly due to her movements being restricted.

She glanced down at her feet and saw her shadow connected to her opponents shadow by a thin shadow between the two. She couldn't believe that it had been so easy to beat her.

"How?" asked Temari.

"Frankly I don't know. I believed you would see through the clone and be ready for me to attack. I guess you thought I was to scared to engage you in close combat or I was too lazy. Either way I got in close and captured you." Said Shikamaru boredly.

In the stands many of the jounin were quite impressed on how Shikamaru had easily disabled his opponent quickly. Even more surprising was that it was a Nara who had won this quickly.

"Never seen a Nara do so much in so little time." Stated a jounin in the crowd.

"That's for sure. He displayed some impressive speed and planning. I wouldn't mind that kid as a chuunin or that Uzumaki kid. Both were able to win their matches with very little damage taken to them." Stated another jounin.

"What did you think of the Uchiha?" asked the first Jounin.

"His skills are at chuunin level, but his tactics need a little work. I'd say by the next exams he would be ready to be a chunnin, but we will have to wait and see." Said the second one.

Back on the match Shikamaru had grabbed the a kunai on his left thigh and was slowly walking towards Temari, who was waling towards Temari without a kunai in her hand.

Finally they were standing a foot apart staring at each other…well Temari was more like glaring, but I'm sure you get the picture. Shikamaru raised his Kunai up to her throat and held it there for a few seconds.

"Surrender or I will kill you." Demanded Shikamaru.

"Screw you." She gritted out in response.

"So be it." Said Shikamaru as his shadow began to slowly crawl up her body in a shape of a hand.

"I'm not going to kill you…but I'm not going to allow you to help your village later today during whatever you have planned." Said Shikamaru as his shadow began to strangle the gennin.

Her eyes were wide with fear after finding out that he knew, but she could do nothing as her throat was closed by Shikamaru's jutsu.

"Winner is Shikamaru of the Leaf!" declared the proctor as everyone in the crowd cheered for Shikamaru's quick victory.

'Damn! Temari and I were supposed to protect Gaara during the invasion! I can't afford to use up any chakra now!' thought Kankuro.

"Will Shino of the Leaf and Kankuro of the Sand get down here for the next match?" called out the Proctor.

"What do you think he is going to do Shino?" asked Naruto.

"Logically it would be safe to assume that he will forfeit to save his chakra if an invasion were to take place." Stated Shino.

"True…" ended Naruto as Shino started to walk down the stairs, but was stopped by Kankuro's voice.

"Proctor! I will have to forfeit my next match on personal matters to attend to! You can continue with the Semi-Finals!" called out Kankuro.

Shino returned to Naruto's side quickly enough as Naruto began to loosen the weights on his wrists and ankles. "I take it you really wanted to fight?" asked Naruto.

"That is correct." Muttered Shino as his hive began to buzz loudly.

"Don't worry you will have your match. Hopefully it will only be leaf shinobi in the finals!" joked Naruto as he jumped over the railing to stretch for his match.

'_So Zeratul any ideas on how I can beat this guy?' _asked Naruto as he began his stretches.

"_**I would suggest any trick you can think up to counter his attacks. Try attacking in unorthodox ways that ensure critical hits on him or you can wait for opening in his defense." **_Lectured Zeratul.

'_Thank you! I will do my best!'_ thought Naruto.

"Will Gaara of the Sand come down to the arena floor to begin the first Semi-Final round!" shouted the Proctor.

Gaara obliged quickly and appeared in a sand Shunshin that Naruto had to admit looked awesome. "Mother will have your blood Uzumaki." Stated Gaara.

"I would like to see her try." Retorted Naruto.

"This will be the first match of the semi-finals! Hajime!" yelled the proctor as Naruto quickly made 5 shadow clones and sent them at Gaara.

The three clones split up with one going to the right, one to the left and one from the front trying to attack at once. This attack was easily repelled as Gaara's sand proved to be very adaptable.

Naruto received the memories and once again made some shadow clones, but he made about ten this time and sent them at the unmoving Gaara. Advancing three at a time the clones came at him.

The first three took the same approach as the first group, but the sand came up and blocked the attacks. The middle line was then there and used the first group as a stepping-stone to jump over the sand.

They descended on Gaara from above and started to go through seals. "Futon: Drilling Wind Bullets!" yelled the clones as they launched three dense balls of wind from their mouth.

Gaara's sand came up and blocked the three balls of wind, but the impact was felt as parts of the hardened sand cracked upon impact. The last group all took out kunai with tags attached and charged into the bottom layer of the sand.

The clones stabbed the kunai's into the sand and jumped high into the air to avoid the spikes now sticking out of the wall of sand. The last clone jumped high into the air using the last group as steps to get as high as it could.

The highest of the third group grabbed the last clone and started spinning the clone before throwing it at Gaara's sand shield. It was at this moment that the kunai at the bottom of the shield exploded causing the foundations in the sand to weaken.

The last clone was heading at the top of the shield that was right above Gaara like a missile. It made a sign and smiled in anticipation.

"Uzumaki Hellfire Missile!" yelled the original as the clone started to glow bright white.

BOOM! The explosion the clone made as it impacted with the top of the shield was massive and the entire crowd could feel the pressure that it created.

The cloud of dust that was created was so massive that no one could see Gaara and many were assuming that he had died in such an explosion, but some knew the truth. The dust eventually cleared to show Gaara on his knees with sand gathering around his body. His body itself seemed to be covered with small cuts and bruises.

Soon Gaara was in the shape of a monstrous raccoon about 4 times bigger than Naruto. The only part of it that wasn't at normal size were the legs which were covered with a thin layer of sand.

"This ends here Uzumaki!" yelled the transformed Gaara as he charged at Naruto.

"Damn!" cursed Naruto as he rolled out of the way of a massive fist that crashed into the ground he had just been standing on.

Naruto made two shadows and had them jump around Gaara to surround him. Gaara himself paid no attention to the clones and kept trying to attack Naruto, but thankfully Naruto had dropped his weights and was now a bit faster than Gaara.

Naruto threw a large kunai at Gaara, but Gaara easily blocked the blade with his arm and came upon Naruto. However, before he got far he was hit in the head hard by a large force.

It was in fact an air bullet delivered from one of Naruto's shadows that Gaara had neglected to watch. Gaara slowly got up and turned towards Naruto with a mad gleam in his eyes. The madness was even more defined with the cracks that were forming on his armor.

"Yes! Prove my existence Uzumaki!" yelled Gaara as he shot out hundreds of sand projectiles at Naruto.

"Crap!" yelled Naruto as he jumped behind a tree to shield himself from the attack. The projectiles impacted against the tree and tore through it quickly forcing Naruto move once again.

"Sand Breakthrough!" yelled Gaara as he shot a massive blast of wind and sand at Naruto.

The attack hit Naruto head on sending him crashing into the wall. Gaara laughed in madness as he approached Naruto's unmoving body.

When he was in striking distance he rose both of his fists up in the air at the same time to crush Naruto. However right before dealing the blow Naruto looked up at Gaara and grinned.

"Boom!" shouted Naruto as he started to glowing and blew up right in front of Gaara.

Gaara was blew across the stadium with Sand slowly crumbling off of his body. He got up slowly and tried to keep his balance, but the loss of sand caused him to stumble a bit.

"Gotcha!" yelled Naruto as he appeared right under Gaara's face in his shadow and shot up and nailed Gaara right in the jaw.

Gaara flew up into the air where three of Naruto's clones were waiting to attack. They all shot Air Bullets at Gaara from direct range sending him crashing into the ground.

Naruto landed a few feet away from Gaara panting hard from doing a whole lot of jutsu. However, this wasn't the end of Gaara as the boy started to slowly stand up as a large amount of sand surrounded him.

Naruto looked at Gaara in disbelief of how the gennin was able to take such a beating and still stand up and come for more.

'I don't have enough chakra to beat him…I guess I will just have to steal some.' Thought Naruto as he went through a set of hand signs.

"Void: Subjugation!" yelled Naruto as he slammed his hand on the ground. Suddenly tendrils shot out of Naruto's shadows. The black tendrils quickly wrapped around Gaara's body and began to have lines of red light appear on the tendrils.

Gaara screamed in rage and pain as he felt both sources of his chakra being sucked out of his body. It didn't take long for the sand to fall apart and for Gaara to be revealed.

Soon the tendrils receded back to a healthy looking Naruto Gaara was completely out of chakra and barely conscious and Naruto was completely rejuvenated and ready for the next battle.

"How did you beat me so easily?" asked Gaara weakly as Naruto approached him.

"I was fighting for my village this battle. I know what you contain Gaara and I wasn't willing to let you release it in the village where you could hurt anyone." Said Naruto.

"Why do you fight for this village? I know what you contain. Mother and I can sense it inside of you…I can see the loneliness in your eyes. It was the same as mine…. why do you fight for them?" Asked Gaara.

"Because I never gave up to get their trust. I got friends and people to look past what I contain inside of me. During this past month I became part of a surrogate family and I found someone extremely precious to me. For her I would give my life." Said Naruto.

"Is that how you got your strength?" asked Gaara desperately.

"You can do the same Gaara. Your siblings still love you and will help you if they let you them." Said Naruto.

"I will see…proctor I surrender." Said Gaara as he passed out and was carried to the hospital wing.

Naruto smiled as the crowd cheered for him as he walked up to the contestant box. He eyed Hinata from across the stands and smiled at her making her blush a bit and smile a bit in return.

Up in the Kage box Orochimaru was steaming at the fact his weapon in the upcoming invasion had been defeated before the invasion had even begun. He had never once considered the possibility that the Uzumaki kid would even have a chance.

Now his invasion was a step behind and if he waited any longer then the chances of success would go down even further. He made a signal for the start of the invasion and waited for the explosions that were set to go off in five minutes.

"Are you okay Kazekage? I know your son was defeated, but he put up a good fight and deserves some praise." Said the Hokage.

"Yes, he does after all his opponent was very skilled." Said Orochimaru.

"To bad you won't be able to congratulate him on his match…Orochimaru." Said the Hokage as Orochimaru's eyes widened in surprise as he was forced to dodge a kunai thrown at him by Orochimaru.

"Shinobi of the Sand look at your false Kazekage! He is in fact Orochimaru and has tricked your village into attacking the leaf! Help us expel sound from the leaf's borders and we will assist you in finding your Kazekage!" declared the Hokage as many of the sand shinobi looked on in shock at the imposter Kazekage.

Meanwhile the Sound Shinobi in the arena began to attack the leaf shinobi after the genjutsu was put into affect putting to sleep all of the civilians. Suddenly one of the Sand Shinobi screamed in pain as he was run through by a sound nin causing the sand ninja to attack anyone despite what village they were from.

"How did you know it was me?" asked Orochimaru.

"I've known since you entered the box. You reek of snakes and death Orochimaru. You are a mistake that needs to be taken care of by me." Said Hiruzen.

"I would like to see you try Sensei." Smiled Orochimaru.

Down in the arena things were pretty messed up as the Leaf Shinobi used their superior teamwork to fight against both Sand and Sound. Naruto, Shino, and Shikamaru had quickly restrained Kankuro and were interrogating him.

"Why are you doing this?" yelled Naruto at the sand gennin.

"We were under orders from my father…but it seems it wasn't our father at all! I'm done fighting! I just want to make sure my sister and brother are okay!" answered Kakuro desperately.

"The sound forces are getting close to the Hyugas." Stated Shino as Naruto looked up in surprise.

It was true as the Hyuga had only half of their members still at the tournament after Neji had loss. However one that had not gone home was in fact Hinata and she was in a fight with a chuunin from sound at the moment.

"Damn…do you guys have everything under control here?" asked Naruto.

"We got it. Just go save your girlfriend already." Stated Shikamaru boredly.

"Right!" shouted Naruto as he jumped across the stadium while making hand signs.

"Void: Shadow Spears!" yelled Naruto, making Hinata's opponent look up at him before he was stabbed in the gut by three black spears coming out of his shadow.

"Naruto!" shouted Hinata happily as she hugged him.

"Are you okay Hinata?" asked Naruto in concern for her safety.

"Yes, I am. What's going on? Why did Sound and Sand attack us?" asked Hinata.

"It was all orchestrated by Orochimaru of the Sannin. Jiraiya-sensei learned that Orochimaru had killed the Kazekage and was acting as a puppet leader for Suna so he could use him to attack us." Came the voice of Hiashi Hyuga as he landed beside the two.

"So that was why the Hokage revealed Orochimaru to us all." Said Hinata.

"Yes it was and hopefully he can finally finish that snake off for good." Said Naruto with a smile.

"How did you know Naruto?" asked Hinata curiously.

"It was revealed at a meeting where all division heads were required to be present at." Said Naruto with a proud smile.

"Then why were you there?" asked Hinata in confusion.

"Well you see I made the argument that I'm a division on my own so they allowed me to be there. That kinda reminds me I have to help clear the streets of Konoha. Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu!" yelled Naruto as he made 1000 clones among the top of the arena.

"Thankfully I stole all that chakra from Gaara or I wouldn't have been able to do that." Stated Naruto as both Hiashi and Hinata looked at him in shock of the amount of chakra he had used.

Their thoughts were silenced though as a large purple barrier rose out of the area the Hokage was. It was at that moment that Naruto's head started hurting with visions of death and funerals running through his thoughts.

'What they hell is this?' asked Naruto in his mind.

'_**It is your first vision granted to you by the Void. It seems someone important will dies unless something is done to help them.' Spoke Zeratul.**_

'But who is about to die?' asked Naruto as he searched his thoughts. He saw Konohamaru crying with Asuma looking sad right next to him. It seemed as if the whole village had come to pay respects to this warrior.

'That can only mean one thing!' thought Naruto with wide eyes.

'_**That is correct Naruto. I can help you; I just need you to channel half your chakra into your center. I will handle the rest of the jutsu.'**_ Said Zeratul as Naruto started to channel his chakra.

"Here it goes!" yelled Naruto as he began to glow dark blue.

'_**Void: Warrior of the Shadows!"**_ yelled Zeratul as Naruto's chakra exploded around him.

Well sorry there you guys, but you will have to wait until the next chapter to see what that jutsu is. I hope you all liked this chapter and as always I am open to reviews by you guys and please tell me how I did this chapter.

So next chapter will be the introduction of the OC jounin squad during the invasion and the fight between Sarutobi, Orochimaru, and a mystery guest of my choosing which I believe a lot of you will like.

Anyway have fun for the next few weeks!

I am outta here!


	7. Whispers From the Void

Well you guys I hope you all liked my chapter, which officially made this, story my longest to date. It has taken me quite a bit of months to get this far and I'm glad you all still enjoy it. Now I have been debating what I had planned for the invasion and I realized that with Sand helping the Leaf the battle would be too easy.

So I decided to spice things up a bit and throw in something that I haven't really seen before in any Fanfiction that I have read. Hopefully you will all like since I have no idea how I'm going to proceed with it haha!

Anyway! I have learned that one of my readers has accepted to make one of my challenges and I eagerly await for him to finish the first chapter so that I may read it.

Now I'm sorry for the time it took to get this chapter out, but I decided to enjoy the past few weeks and just focus on reading stories instead of writing them. Also I'm back to college and am swamped with a whole lot of work that needs to be done.

**Whispers From the Void**

Naruto felt his chakra cut in half from the jutsu that Zeratul used inside his mind. He registered that he was waving through a long line of seals before he slammed his hand on the ground and watched as a black mass formed up in front of him.

Hinata herself was looking at the mass in confusion as she could tell that Naruto didn't seem to know exactly what he was doing as his eyes had glossed over as his chakra exploded.

The mass of shadows soon took on the shape of a bipedal figure about 8 inches taller than Naruto. Slowly distinct characteristics began to form as it had an elongated head. Its knees seemed to be bent backwards and seemed thinner than a normal mans. It only had three fingers and had three large toes.

Then it's clothing formed and its skin started to turn a dark purple. It was wearing a tattered cloak with a large gauntlet on its hand and a wrap covered its face. Two piercing green eyes stared out of the wrap as it turned to Naruto.

"Zeratul? What the heck is this?" shouted out Naruto in surprise.

"En Taro Tassadar Naruto. I believe by mixing the small amount of psi energy in your mind I was able to create myself a body. However, it seems my time is limited." Explained the Templar.

"I thought you said you were stuck inside of me?" asked Naruto.

"Not all things are set in stone young one. You two should get back to doing what needs to be done. Don't worry about the Hokage…I will look after him." Said Zeratul as he exploded in a mass of black.

"What was that?" squeaked Hinata.

"Oh that was Zeratul…don't worry he is really nice." Reassured Naruto.

"Okay…what are we supposed to do Naruto?" asked Hinata.

"My clones have already moved out to positions across the village to help in the evacuation of civilians. All gennin are to also help, but I don't see any of us doing something like that." Said Naruto as he looked at the battle to see Three large snakes being summoned into Konoha and smashing through the gates.

"It seems Orochimaru wasn't surprised if Sand turned on him. They probably ambushed many of the sand ninja before they knew the Kazekage was dead." Sighed Naruto.

"What are we going to do?" asked Hinata.

"I'm going to help with the summons. Pervy Sage taught me the summoning jutsu and I can't wait to see it in combat." Said Naruto.

"What about me?" asked Hinata nervously as she was afraid of being left alone.

"You need to find Kurenai-sensei. I'm sure she needs you for something. I'm sorry but where I'm going there is going to be a massive amount of fighting." Said Naruto.

"Please be safe." Replied Hinata.

"I will." Said Naruto as he hugged Hinata and kissed her briefly before jumping off the roof of the arena and heading in the direction of the closest snakes.

Hinata watched him go with worry before she turned and jumped down in the arena next to Kiba and Shino.

"Hinata! Where have you been?" asked Kiba in surprise.

"I was with Naruto. He is going to help at the walls." Explained Hinata as Kurenai shunshined in front of them.

"Team 8 we are to go to the academy with Team 10 and defend it from attacks from Sound." Ordered Kurenai as they nodded as both teams jumped in the direction of the academy.

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Hiruzen Sarutobi the 3rd Hokage was a very powerful ninja even at the age 64 which didn't happen too often in his chosen profession. In his glory days he could take on an army and perhaps win, but now old age had slowed him down.

He was facing not only one of his students, but both of his teachers that he learned everything he knew from. The snake had resurrected them in the most evil way possible and was forcing them to fight.

One on one Hiruzen knew that he could beat Orochimaru, but with the past two Hokage's here the odds were against him.

"It seems we will have to fight Hiruzen." Stated the 2nd with a somber expression on his face.

"Last time we fought you lost in under a minute Monkey Boy." Said the 1st causing Hiruzen to grumble about his old nickname.

"It would seem so. I promise I will release you from the control of my wayward student." Stated Hiruzen as got into a stance.

"You are a fool Sensei…you don't actually believe that you will be able to take out all three of us by yourself do you?" mocked Orochimaru.

"_He will not be alone."_ Came a deep resonating voice in all of their minds.

Beside Hiruzen a mass of shadows exploded revealing a humanoid creature wearing dark violet robes with blue skin and neon green eyes.

"Who are you?" asked Hiruzen with caution.

"I was summoned by one your favorite unpredictable ninja Hokage." Said the creature standing there.

Hiruzen's eyes widened for a second before smiling in anticipation. If this being had as much power as he could sense then perhaps the village was not lost. Damn Naruto should've at least told him about having the ability to summon some creature.

"Interesting…this creature seems to be giving off a presence of power that is quite great. It will be interesting to examine its remains after you die." Stated Orochimaru.

Both past Hokages looked at the creature with raised eyebrows before they both smirked. "I do believe that the Will of Fire is still burning brightly." Said the 1st.

"I do believe you are right dear brother." Answered the 2nd.

"Enough of this talking! Attack and kill them!" commanded Orochimaru as the 1st immediately created a thick forest on the roof of the building that prevented any sunlight from getting through.

"I will take out the two Hokages. You handle your student. En Taro Tassadar." Stated the creature as it merged into the ground similar to Naruto's ability, but much faster.

The two Hokages looked at him in confusion before they both jumped back as Zeratul emerged between them and tried to take the head off of the 1st Hokage. The 2nd charged Hiruzen, but Zeratul was already in front of him allowing Hiruzen to charge Orochimaru.

"Damn!" cursed Orochimaru as he ducked under Hiruzen's kick.

"This ends here Orochimaru!" yelled the 3rd as he launched a large fireball at Orochimaru.

X  
>X<br>X

Naruto quickly made it through the village, as he knew it like the back of his hand. Every once in a while he would be confronted by a chuunin ninja from Sound, but Naruto just made a few clones to deal with them before moving on.

Soon he was at the sight of the battle between a large snake and a large group of shinobi that were firing jutsu at it. The snake kept shrugging off each attack and would smash into buildings randomly.

In the corner of his eye he saw a large toad appear and crush one of the other snakes so that meant the Pervy Sage was fighting. Good, now he could show Konoha that he had what was needed to protect the village.

First, though he needed the snake out of the village so his Toad didn't cause more damage than the snake. Quickly he ran at the snake while dodging attacks from his own village.

As he reached it he jumped as high as he could and started to run up it's scales to the surprise of some of the ninja. It didn't take long to reach the snakes eyes. Where preceded to shove a Rasengan straight into the pupil.

The snake screeched in pain as blood poured from its eye and thrashed around in disarray. Thankfully it spotted Naruto with its other eye and charged at the blonde that was now on Konoha's wall.

Naruto jumped back at the last second to narrowly dodge the snakes jaw. Taking into the size and speed of the snake it is completely plausible to say that the wall gave way.

"Damn this thing is huge, but I know something even bigger!" declared Naruto as bit his thumb and slammed his hand on the ground outside the wall.

Soon he was towering over the walls of Konoha and even the massive snake that stood across from him and what he was standing upon.

"Why was I summon…oh! It seems like Orochimaru is back in the village!" came the voice of Gamabunta.

"Yeah, he's fighting the Hokage right now Boss! Could you help me get rid of this summons so I can get back to helping him?" pleaded Naruto.

"Calm down Gaki! I'll help you this time considering the fact that I have a personal score to settle with the snakes. However, when this is over I demand that you have a drink with me!" declared Gamabunta.

"Deal! Now let's get rid of this snake!" Declared Naruto as Gamabunta pulled out his Tanto and stood defiantly in the face of the snake.

It was at this precise moment that the snake struck. Gamabunta jumped to the side narrowly avoiding the jaws of the creature. Gamabunta quickly countered with his Tanto and sent the snakes head flying into the forest.

"Well that was easy…" stated Naruto.

"What did you expect brat? I am the Boss while this was just some snake! The only one that would remotely give me a challenge now would be Manda. Summon me when this battle is over and we will have that drink." Stated the boss.

"Thank you Boss! Don't worry I will when everything has calmed down." Replied Naruto as Gamabunta disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto landed close to the wall and quickly made his way to where the snake had smashed through so he could continue the battle. It took less than a minute to reach the hole, but before he made it through the wall he heard something that made his blood run cold.

"Well it seems like our mission is even easier than I thought it would be." Came a deep voice from behind him.

Naruto turned around and stared at two men dressed in black cloaks with red clouds on them. One of the men was blue and looked like a shark, but the other was well known to him.

Ever since the wave mission he had studied the bingo books of Konoha and no other name stood out more than the one before him. Itachi Uchiha…the brother of Sasuke and the killer of the entire Uchiha clan.

"Itachi Uchiha…" breathed out Naruto as he backed away a little.

"It seems the kid knows of you Itachi. I wonder if he has any idea who I am?" stated the shark like man that Naruto recognized as 'The Monster of the Mist' Kisame Hoshigaki.

'Damn this! There is no way that I would stand a chance against one of them, but two! I have to stall for time and hope someone comes to help.' Thought Naruto as sweat rolled down his face.

"Naruto Uzumaki…my organization has a need for you. Come along with us and I will promise that you will not be harmed." Stated Itachi in an emotionless voice.

"What is your organization called? I'd like to know more about it before I make any decisions about my future." Replied Naruto with any confidence he could muster.

"We are the Akatsuki…we are in need of people with your…condition." Replied the Uchiha.

'They want me for either the Kyubi or my shadow chakra, but I doubt it's because of my shadow chakra. They have to be after the power of the Kyubi and if I've learned anything its that I can't survive with out the fuzz ball.' Thought Naruto.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to decline your offer on the grounds that I doubt I'd live too long with ninja as…famous as you two." Answered Naruto.

"Brat sure has done his research. No matter it would be easy just take him by force and remove his legs." Stated Kisame as he grabbed his massive sword.

"Just be quick about this fight as the battle could end at any moment and it would be bad to have the entire village after us." Stated Itachi as Kisame smiled.

"Don't worry this brat won't last more than a minute." Stated Kisame as he approached Naruto.

"That's what you believe.' Stated Naruto as he made a sign and summoned ten clones to attack Kisame at once.

"Clones?" questioned Kisame as he swung his sword and knocked all ten away with a single attack.

"You wish!" replied Naruto as he launched an air bullet at Kisame.

Kisame simply raised his broadsword up to block the attack. The bullet impacted against the sword and simply dispersed before it had an opportunity to explode and do any damage.

"Damn the rumors about your blade are true…Samehada the Shark's Skin, able to absorb chakra by simply touching it. A truly dangerous weapon in anyone's hands due to it's features.

"Your actually pretty smart for a brat. Why don't you just surrender and save yourself the trouble of losing at my hands?" asked Kisame as he hoisted Samehada onto his shoulders.

"Well I won't lie and say Samehada isn't intimidating as hell, but then again so was Zabuza's blade. Luckily Zabuza left a little something to learn how to use…although I doubt I'm at your level, but it should keep that blade of yours away." Said Naruto as he pulled out a scroll in his jacket.

"What are you spewing brat?" asked Kisame.

"I'm saying you aren't the only one with a giant blade!" yelled Naruto as he unsealed whatever was on the scroll to only reveal Kubikiribocho in his hands.

Despite the size of the blade Naruto looked to have no problems at all holding the massive the blade that was nearly twice as tall as he was. Naruto was crouched down in a predatory like manner with the blade parallel with his arm.

"You know no one ever knows that I grabbed this blade. When I first got it I honestly wondered why I would ever have use for something this big, but now I think I grabbed it to fight you." Said Naruto as he smiled a feral smile at Kisame.

"It's been some time since two of the seven blades have clashed against each other. I wonder if you will be able to give Zabuza any honor in wielding his blade." Stated Kisame as he ran at Naruto.

Naruto jumped high into the air while rotating his body and using the momentum to attack Kisame. The two blades clashed in a shower of sparks, but Kisame pushed Naruto back with little effort.

Naruto used Kubikiribocho to twist his body around and launch another attack at Kisame. Kisame easily blocked the attack with his own feral smile on his face.

"You will need to better than that to defeat someone of my caliber with one of our blades." Stated Kisame as he attacked and drove Naruto back 10 feet with a single attack.

"Futon: Drilling Air Bullets!" yelled Naruto as he shot off a steady stream of air bullets from his mouth.

"Suiton: Great Wall of Water." Stated Kisame as he shot a large amount of water out of his mouth that morphed into a large wall of water that blocked the bullets of air.

Using the distraction of the Air Bullets Naruto merged with his shadow and connected with Kisame's own shadow.

Kisame removed the wall of water to find that Naruto was no longer in his sight or was he detectable by Samehada at all.

"Where the hell did that brat go?" asked Kisame completely unaware of Naruto beginning to emerge from his shadow.

"Watch it!" warned Itachi just in time for Kisame to avoid a fatal wound delivered by Naruto. However he wasn't able to completely avoid the attack and received a deep gut across his back.

"Damn that brat!" declared Kisame as Naruto was now poised to strike him down.

Right before the blade connected Itachi blocked attack with a single kunai with very little effort showing in his eyes.

"You are stronger than what we believed Naruto Uzumaki." Stated Itachi.

"You aren't the first to underestimate me." Gritted out Naruto as he pushed even harder against Itachi.

Hiruzen was fairing well against his former pupil as the other two factors of the battle were being handled well by the mysterious summon. The surprising fact was that it was even with both of the former Hokage before him.

Luckily he didn't have to worry about the other Kage as he fought against Orochimaru in a fierce melee between the two of them. Despite the odds being even the battle was far from over.

"Well Sensei I won't lie and say that I'm not surprised about how well you are doing today. But this ends here!" yelled Orochimaru as he pulled out Kusanagi, that was somehow lodged in his throat.

"So you draw out that poisoned blade of yours? Guess I will have to call on one of my oldest friends to fight that off." Said Sarutobi as he ran through the summoning seals and summoned The Great Ape King Enma.

"It is good to see you old friend. I guess it is time to correct that mistake from years ago huh?" asked the great ape.

"Indeed it is my old friend. Please help me correct that mistake I made years ago." Stated Hiruzen.

"I will, but don't take too long. That sword of his should still be able to hurt me despite me being as hard as diamonds." Stated Enma as he transformed into his staff form.

"That old monkey can't help you now old man!" yelled Orochimaru as he charged at Hiruzen like he was a snake.

Hiruzen dodged the attack instead of blocking and lashed out with his staff, but Orochimaru easily evaded the attack, but Hiruzen spun around and attacked faster than before.

Zeratul was fairing well against the previous Kage, but when face against two legends of the past that happened to be brothers, most strategies were doomed to fail.

Both Kage were able to work perfectly together to fight against the ancient Protoss Hero. The only advantage on Zeratul's side were centuries of experience and the manipulation of void that was unrivaled by any of his race.

Zeratul blinked away right before a large dragon of water smashed into where he had stood. He reappeared above the 2nd and shot at the unprepared Kage, He drove his warp blade deeply into the 2nd.

However, he had to jump back to avoid a wooden spear aimed for his head from the 1st. This gave the 2nd just enough time to regenerate from the normally fatal wound that was delivered.

'These two will generate no matter what I do to them. I guess my only chance will be to either utterly destroy them or contain them. The Void Prison should be able to hold them, but will it be enough to last till the end of the fight?' thought Zeratul.

The two Kages once again came charging at Zeratul while launching jutsu to keep him moving. Thankfully Zeratul easily dodged everything and merged with the shadows to escape their sight once more.

"You are a very interesting creature. More than once you have completely escaped every one of our senses and attacked us before we knew where you were. I guess the legends of the great shadow users were true." Stated the 1st.

"**So there are records of my people living on this planet years ago after all? I had believed they had all been destroyed after the great battle.**" Said Zeratul

"No the records are now lost after a large battle before this village was founded. However, from what we gathered your people came from the stars and made a stand on this planet and won at the cost of your existence." Said the 2nd as the two Kage looked around.

"**Indeed we did. The collective energy of my people is directly responsible today for the chakra that you Terrans now use. After all the being known as the Jubi was created from an explosion of all our energy combined." **Explained Zeratul.

"If that is indeed true than it is an honor to fight such a legendary being such as yourself." Stated the First.

"**Likewise." **Came Zeratul's voice from behind the 1st.

The 1st had no time to react before Zeratul's warp blade completely bisected him in half across the waste. The Templar wasted no time at all and trapped the bisected Hokage in a field of blue static energy that prevented him from moving at all.

The 2nd quickly came to the aid of his brother, but could do nothing a Zeratul blasted him with a wave of Psionic energy. This allowed for Zeratul to trap the 2nd in yet another Void Prison.

"**It pains my heart to see two warriors such as this desecrated in the afterlife. En Taro Tassadar!" **Stated Zeratul as turned to join with Hiruzen and kill the snake that had desecrated the two souls now trapped by him.

X

X

X

Naruto stared defiantly back at Itachi as the Uchiha's eyes shifted quickly into the eyes of the Magenkyo Sharingan. It was at that moment he saw Itachi's eyes spinning rapidly before his world faded to black.

Naruto opened his eyes and quickly noticed that there were several things wrong with where he was. First, the sky was red and the ground was black. Second, there was a giant moon basically covering half the sky before.

"Where the hell is Itachi?" questioned Naruto.

As if answering his question a portal opened up before him and Itachi stepped out staring at Naruto. "Welcome to the world of Tsukyomi Naruto Uzumaki. Here I control space and time and am the god of this world for the next 72 hours.

Naruto suddenly found himself pinned to a cross as the landscape shifted around him to show the village completely destroyed. "What is this?" asked Naruto.

"This is the result of a demon…or should I just say you?" said Itachi as he appeared in front of Naruto.

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto as a loud roar echoed in the distance.

"You are destined to lose control Uzumaki. One day the Kyubi will be unleashed and you will be forced to bear witness as the Kyubi kills your loved ones. It is after all the destiny of you Jinchuuriki." Stated Itachi as the roars were getting closer.

"I would never let the Kyubi go!" roared Naruto in anger at the Uchiha.

"You can fight it all you want Naruto, but this is your fate." Stated Itachi as a creature covered in dark crimson chakra smashed through a damaged building.

"What the hell is that?" shouted out Naruto in shock, but he didn't need to ask the question. He could make out a body in the chakra and it was quite obvious that it was himself.

Suddenly a large group of people suddenly appeared before the demonized Naruto. They were all changed to the ground preventing them from moving. On their faces were expressions of horror and surprise.

The chakra on the chakra Naruto suddenly sucked back into itself and revealed a Naruto dressed in black robes with blood red eyes. It smiled evilly as it approached the first of the people chained up.

"What are you doing! Get away from them!" yelled Naruto as he thrashed against his bonds.

"This is your fate Uzumaki." Stated Itachi as Demon Naruto grabbed the first victim. It was revealed to be a the terrified Iruka.

Demon Naruto slowly dragged out Iruka despite the man's pleading trying to reach his old student. However, Demon Naruto just smiled and grabbed a large blade and decapitated Iruka.

Naruto along with all who were tied up screamed in horror and rage as Demon Naruto smiled in satisfaction as blood coated his body.

"STOP THIS! I'll kill you!" yelled Naruto as he continued to fight the bonds on his wrists despite them cutting into his skin.

Demon Naruto smiled at him as he went back to the group of people who he counted as his precious people. Demon Naruto reached forward and grabbed someone else causing them to scream in terror.

Naruto's heart dropped at the sound of the person screaming. Despite the tone of the voice he knew the voice as well as he knew his own.

Demon Naruto was dragging the most important person of his life to the place where he killed Iruka. Hinata Hyuga struggled and pleaded with Demon Naruto to let them go, but Demon Naruto just smiled in response before slapping Hinata.

"Let her go! I swear I will kill you! Please just let her go!" screamed Naruto as tears came from his eyes. He had struggled so much against the bonds that wires that were holding him in place had cut straight to the bone.

That mattered little to Naruto as he still fought with all of his might to save Hinata. Demon Naruto had forced her to her knees facing the real Naruto.

Hinata looked up at Naruto and their eyes met for a few seconds. Hinata smiled sadly at Naruto before she mouthed out three words that broke Naruto's heart right then there.

"I Love you…"

Naruto cried out in anguish as Demon Naruto drove a kunai straight into the temple of Hinata causing her eyes to roll up to the back of her head. Demon Naruto smiled wickedly and kicked the body to ground before licking the blood straight off the kunai.

"71 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds left to go." Stated Itachi with no emotion as Naruto screamed in pain and anguish.

On the outside it took no more than three seconds for this to all go on. Kisame blinked once before Naruto started screaming in pain. Itachi dropped him to the ground quickly and leaned back to avoid an arrow aimed for his head.

"It seems things have gotten a little more difficult." Stated Itachi as he turned to see four Konoha jounin ready to fight him and Kisame.

"You have a lot to answer for Itachi Uchiha stated one of the jounin who was carrying two swords.

"Who are these trash?" asked Kisame in wonder.

"These four are quite the team…even able to give the Ino-Shika-Cho formation a run." Stated Kisame.

"Arashi and Dung…take on Itachi. Arashi your Fareyes should be able to dispel any genjutsu he uses against you. Joe and I will take on Kisame and don't forget these two are S-Rank criminals." Stated the leader who was the tallest with tanned skin, brown eyes and brown hair. He had two swords drawn out and looked quite serious.

"Well it's nice to see that you put Dung against the clan killing traitor! It's not like we could do some thing like that Oni!" yelled out the one with a bow and arrow. He had golden tan skin with sky blue eyes that contained a gold circle surrounding the pupil, and fiery red hair with gold streaks in it.

"This is going to suck…" stated the one known as Dung in a pessimistic voice. He was with dark brown hair tied into a girlish ponytail on his back.

"He put you two against him because your abilities put you at an advantage against Itachi. Oni and I should be able to handle this monster." Stated the biggest one of the group. Joe Gren was his name and he stood at 5 foot 8 inches with about 220 pounds of muscle on his body. The guy was built like a tank and carried a massive polearm.

"Finally I can get to kill some worms!" exclaimed Kisame as he brandished Samehada and smiled in glee.

"Don't underestimate them Kisame." Stated Itachi as he pulled out a kunai.

Orochimaru was starting to his limit in techniques as he was forced to fend off perhaps the greatest Shinobi ever and a summon that he could barely sense. He quickly shot out two snakes at Sarutobi, but they were batted away. Ducking under the glowing blade of the summon Orochimaru swung Kusanagi at the summon, but the creature blinked away.

"Surrender Orochimaru! You cannot hope to fight the two of us!" declared Hiruzen as he clutched Enma tightly.

"Kukuku…you think that you can win just because you've sealed both the past Hokages? You are even more senile than I believed!" laughed Orochimaru, but inside he was worried.

"In an normal circumstance he would be able to beat Hiruzen by himself, but now after fighting both enemies for the past few minutes he could feel himself getting tired.

Every time he had a chance to end the battle that damn summon would appear and nearly decapitate him. Now he didn't even think he could take on Sarutobi and win. Twice now he had been forced to shed his skin, but that technique had limits and he was at his.

He sported numerous shallow cuts and burns that covered his body. If one on one it would be old age vs. injury and chakra exhaustion. Now factor in this last opponent who was about as strong as Sarutobi…at least in the shadows, this battle wasn't looking good.

His thoughts were quickly interrupted by a searing pain in at the elbow of one of his arms. He jumped back and noticed that one of his arms didn't follow.

Seething Orochimaru elongated his neck and shot at Zeratul with Kusanagi sticking out of his mouth. However his face impacted an diamond hard surface that happened to be Enma.

Orochimaru went flying and landed at the edge of the barrier close to two of his Sound Four. Zeratul and Hiruzen approached the defeated Snake Sennin slowly creating a dramatic effect.

"This is the end my old student." Stated Hiruzen sadly.

"I will not be defeated!" stated Orochimaru defiantly, but his strength was leaving him.

"Would you like me to do the honors?" asked Zeratul in a respectful tone.

"No I will do it just like I should've years ago." Stated Hiruzen.

"Very well…it seems that I'm out of chakra. I must go…En Taro Tassadar." Stated Zeratul as he poofed away.

Hiruzen slowly made his way to Orochimaru, but at that moment three paper bombs landed before him making him jump back to avoid the blasts. When the smoke cleared he saw Orochimaru and his bodyguards making their escape while his ANBU chased them.

"Sir, we have secured most of the village with most of the fighting happening around the walls. We have suffered minimal casualties since Sand backed out quickly and the repairs will be minimal." Stated a bear faced ANBU.

"Thank you Bear…I want you to find me my Student Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki I have a mission for the two." Stated Hiruzen.

"Sir!' shouted the ANBU before he disappeared.

"I hope she finally comes back…" muttered Hiruzen as he walked towards the edge of the arena.

"The Will of Fire will always burn on as long as the Leaf stands." Stated Hiruzen as he glanced at the faces of the past Hokages.

'I wish you could see your son now Minato….he has become quite the Shinobi.' Thought Hiruzen with a proud smile.

X

X

X

Things could be worse. Thought Hinata Hyuga as she helped a few of her clansmen protect the Hyuga Compound. They hadn't been attacked in force due to them being at the center of Konoha, but they still had to fight.

Hinata had realized that it wasn't probably Sand's priority to attack them, but since they weren't fighting any more most of the attackers weren't even attacking. Hinata had already helped defeat three chuunin from sound.

The one she had just disposed of was a chuunin too, but she had taken him down all by herself. The bastard had even insinuated on taking her away from the village to be his prize. Pig…if she would be anyone's prize it would be Naruto who took it.

Looking over the compound she had noticed that her clan had already rounded up or killed everyone of the Sound attackers. Leaving her to do as she pleased with the rest of the invasion.

"Hinata-Sama! You must return to the center building so we can look after you." Shouted a branch member.

"I can't there is still fighting going on in the village." Replied Hinata quickly.

"Sorry Hinata-sama, but Hiashi-Sama has ordered me to bring you back. We will be sending forces out to help defend the village no matter what. You can take a break now." Said the older Hyuga.

"If father has ordered you to bring me back then I shall follow you." Stated Hinata sadly.

"Don't worry Hinata-Sama everything will alright in the village." Stated the Hyuga.

X

X

X

Itachi had his hands full fighting the two jounin before them. It must have taken them years of working together to have achieved this level of teamwork. One would use lighting with his taijutsu and the other would fire off arrows to put Itachi off guard.

However Itachi wasn't an S-Ranked criminal for nothing and proceeded to show why he was to be feared. Neither ninja was able land a serious blow due to genjutsu and an impressive use of the substitution.

It was frustrating to say the least when Dung would use a powerful lighting release technique only for it to show that he aimed for a genjutsu when Arashi would dispel it.

Still despite them not winning, it was enough to keep Itachi away from his prize, which was a semi-conscious Naruto. The boy would mumble and yell incoherently every few seconds.

"This is starting to get tiresome." Stated Itachi as his eyes morphed into that of the Magyenko Sharingan.

"Shit! Dung don't look into his eyes no matter what!" yelled Arashi as he shot three lighting infused arrows at the criminal.

All three struck at once, but Itachi merely dispersed into a flock of crows showing that he was nothing more than an illusion.

He never noticed Itachi to suddenly appear behind with a kunai aimed at his kidney. Thankfully for him though Dung was already there with a kunai to block the attack.

"Damn this…" grunted out Dung as Itachi dispersed into another flock of crows.

"We need a plan…" stated Arashi as he had an arrow ready to be fired.

"Jiraiya is on his way. We just have to hold him off a little longer." Stated Dung.

X  
>X<br>X

Meanwhile the other two members of their squad were fairing pretty well against Kisame. The two relied on mostly close combat with very little ninjutsu so Samehada wasn't being used at it's best.

"You two are starting to annoy me!" yelled Kisame as his Samehada clashed with the pole arm of the large ninja against.

"I'm sorry, but I do not take kindly to murders." Stated the man in an elderly sort of way.

"Duck!" yelled the other ninja as the large leaf ninja ducked under Samehada allowing his partner to have an open hit on Kisame.

Both his blades cut into the body of Kisame, but no blood flowed out of the wounds…only water. Promptly Kisame burst into a puddle of water revealing himself to be a water clone.

"I won't lie…that nearly had me there, but you two are not strong enough to stop me." Laughed Kisame as he shot a few water bullets at the two causing them to scatter.

"Once you are alone you are nothing!" yelled Kisame as he appeared above the one with the twin swords.

"Oni!" yelled the larger one just in time as Oni brought both blades up into an x to block the attack.

It didn't take a skilled eye to see that Oni was just barely holding the block as Samehada inched closer and closer to the man.

"Doton: Earth Spears!" yelled out the larger one as Kisame jumped back to avoid being impaled by three spears that shot out of the ground.

"Thanks Joe that was close." Stated Oni as he wiped sweat from his eye brows.

"We can't hold him off…" stated the older ninja.

"No we can't…but we will give him everything we can before we go." Stated Oni as his swords ignited into twin flame swords.

"Indeed." Stated Joe as he readied his Polearm.

Both of the jounin charged at the same time with perfect synchronization, but Kisame easily followed their moves. Then at the last second, both seemed to glow before exploding with a massive bang a few feet away from Kisame catching him off guard.

"That was a pretty neat trick…I couldn't even tell that those were clones." Stated Kisame as the smoke cleared to show him with massive burns across his tattered cloak.

"That injury would should've killed him." Stated Oni.

"Oh it would've, but Samehada here absorbed most of the chakra before it hit me. Speaking of that chakra." Stated Kisame as chakra leaked out of Samehada and surrounded Kisame making his burns disappear.

Both ninja looked at each other before launching their most powerful jutsu at the man, but once again he came away with nearly no wounds.

"This is just pathetic…" stated Kisame as he approached the two only to be intercepted by a kick to the face courtesy of a rather large toad.

This caused all fighters to stop at once including Itachi and the two they he fighting. "The Great Toad Sage has arrived!" yelled Jiraiya from on top of the toad.

Itachi immediately jumped to Kisame's side with a kunai at the ready prepared to fight. "We are leaving Kisame. There is no way we can defeat Jiraiya quickly enough to make our escape." Stated Itachi as he gazed at the ninja standing against him.

"Maybe next time then Itachi." Agreed Kisame as he hoisted Kisame onto his shoulders.

"We will take our leave now." Stated Itachi as he prepared to jump away.

"Don't let them get away!" yelled Jiraiya as Arashi fired off two arrows at once toward the Uchiha.

X

X

X

"Where am I?" asked Naruto as he stood up to find himself in pitch black room that seemed to be completely empty.

"_You are back in your mind Naruto. You suffered a terrifying mental attack from that genjutsu and the only way your mind could adjust was by shutting itself down temporarily." _Came the voice of Zeratul as he appeared before Naruto.

"Zeratul? All I remember are those eyes and then…" suddenly images came rushing back into his mind of having to watch all those he cared about dying before him at the hands of himself.

"_Focus young one. What you saw was merely a hallucination of the finest caliber. That reality you saw could happen, but only you have the power to make your own destiny." _Stated Zeratul.

"But what if the Kyubi overwhelms me? I'll kill everyone no matter who they are or what they mean to me! I'll become a monster!" screamed Naruto as tears ran down his cheeks. Images of Hinata being killed in different ways filled his head.

"_That is exactly why it will never happen. You would never allow yourself to do such a thing Naruto. Your love and beliefs are strong enough to fight all hatred in the word! I once knew a man of your species who led the human race to victory over the ancient enemies of my race for his love. Such traits are what make humanity strong! Your species never gives up despite the odds stacked against you. This is more true with you than it is for nearly any other!" _explained Zeratul as images appeared behind him of a man fighting the Zerg and of Naruto doing things that many deemed he would never do.

"How can you have so much faith in me?" asked Naruto in a low voice.

"_Because you never go back on your word! That is your Ninja Way and you have lived up to that way beyond what any other has in the past!"_ stated Zeratul as Naruto smiled a bit before hugging the alien before him.

"Thank you…" muttered Naruto as the black room shifted back to the plains of Auir that he was accustomed to in his mind.

X

X

X

Itachi moved to jump, but found himself rooted to the spot he was before and saw a long black shadow wrapped around both of this feet preventing him from moving. The shadow linked back to Naruto who was sweating profusely and looked ready to pass out.

The surprise in his eyes quickly turned to pain as both of Arashi's arrows connected with his body. One was lodged in his shoulder and the other in his thigh. Itachi grunted as he broke Naruto's shadow and jumped away a bit slower than he normally would of.

"This isn't the end Itachi…" muttered Naruto as he passed out and hit the ground.

"Sir, do we go after Itachi now that he is injured?" asked Oni to Jiraiya.

"No…we have to get Naruto to a hospital now. Besides Itachi won't be coming back here for some time now." Stated Jiraiya as he picked Naruto up and turned to the team of Jounins.

"Watch this part of the wall until help arrives." Ordered Jiraiya as he jumped into the village looking for anyone who would help.

"Damn that bastard Orochimaru! I will finish him the next time I see him! If he hadn't attacked then Naruto would be okay!" ranted Jiraiya as he landed outside the hospital to see they were quite busy with the wounded.

"I need some help! My apprentice was subjected to a severe mental genjutsu!" yelled Jiraiya as many of the nurses and doctors refused to even show him the time of the day.

Now normally Jiraiya would understand why no one was helping him, but despite it being busy there were enough doctors for at least one to come over and help. Thankfully one just coming out of the hospital spotted Naruto and Jiraiya and rushed over to help.

"Hurry! I will get a few of my nurses around to help the boy. Just take him to his private room with me." Stated the doctor as Jiraiya followed quickly behind.

"What do you mean private room?" asked Jiraiya.

"That doesn't matter. What happened to Naruto to put him into that sort of state." Questioned the doctor as he eyed Naruto's pale body.

"He was subjected to a severe genjutsu by Itachi Uchiha. He fought off the effects and used the last of his chakra to aid in injuring the Uchiha." Stated Jiraiya as the doctor looked panicked at what the boy went through.

"We have to hurry! There's no telling what kind of damage Itachi did to the boy!" exclaimed the doctor as they reached his room.

Jiraiya quickly laid Naruto down on the bed as he watched the doctor and a few nurses move around the boy hooking up with a few machines.

"You need to go get Inoichi Yamanaka for us! Only a high level Yamanaka can possibly fix or seal off the damage done to the boy!" exclaimed the doctor as Jiraiya nodded and jumped out of the room.

It didn't take Jiraiya long to find the Yamanaka Clan compound as he knew his way around the village like the back of his hand. Seeing as normally the Clan Heads would be defending the compound he found Inoichi on his wall conversing with both Shikaku and Chouza.

"Inoichi! We need a powerful Yamanaka at the hospital now! Naruto was attacked by Itachi Uchiha with a very powerful genjutsu and he is unconscious right now." Yelled Jiraiya

This one statement caused the three Clan Heads to look grim. "Don't worry Jiraiya I will go help Naruto myself to ensure he is okay. I'm sure everything will be fine here." Stated Inoichi as Jiraiya looked relieved and followed him to Naruto's room.

When they reached the room Inoichi started to examine Naruto in order to see if the boy was displaying any signs of being severe emotional distress. After a few minutes he finally looked up and answered the unspoken question.

"I do believe that he has managed to see the illusion for what it really is. I doubt that he will forget what he saw though. I can see two outcomes happening to the boy the first is for him to completely shut down and refuse contact with the world and the last is to forge on ahead and be more determined. Only time will tell though." Stated Inoichi as he looked at Jiraiya.

"Any chance you can search his mind and see if it is intact?" asked Jiraiya.

"Gladly." Stated Inoichi as he used his Mind Walking Jutsu to search Naruto's mind.

At that moment three people burst into the room at once looking for Naruto. The first was the Hiruzen Sarutobi looking a little worse for wear, the second was Kakashi who had a few cuts on his body and the last was Hinata Hyuga looking scared for Naruto.

"Naruto!" shouted Hinata as he latched onto his arm and held it dearly despite the people in the room.

"How is he Jiraiya?" asked Hiruzen.

"He is fine for now, but Inoichi is inside his mind trying to see if there is any permanent damage." Stated Jiraiya.

"What do you mean? What happened to Naruto?" asked Hinata.

"Naruto experienced a very traumatizing genjutsu that rendered him unconscious by Itachi Uchiha. For now Inoichi is in his head fixing any damage that was done. Don't worry your boyfriend will be fine." Stated Jiraiya as Hinata blushed deeply.

X  
>X<br>X

Inoichi landed on a ridge overlooking a massive valley dotted with temples and shrines that he did not recognize at all. In the sky he could see numerous objects flying around each other with explosions everywhere.

"What is this?" asked Inoichi not expecting an answer.

"A battle that happened long ago before the age of Shinobi. This was a staging battle for a grand battle to come." Said a voice behind that turned out to be Naruto.

"This is your mind Uzumaki?" asked Inoichi.

"Yeah, sometimes. Other times though it is a sewer that represents the cell to the nice old fox." Said Naruto.

"Really? Are you feeling alright Naruto?" asked Inoichi as he could tell the representation of Naruto looked tired.

"Would you be alright if you watched an evil version of yourself kill the ones you love in the most horrific ways possible? I don't even know how I will be able to face my friends least of all her." Stated Naruto in a sad voice.

"Your speaking of the Hyuga girl that you are dating?" asked Inoichi.

"Is it that obvious?" asked Naruto.

"Love is a powerful thing Naruto. It can cause people to do rash things. Don't push her away though it would break both of your hearts to do something like that." Stated Inoichi.

"Your right, but I'm always going to fear that I will snap and try to hurt her. It has almost happened before." Stated Naruto.

"Then strive to tame and control the Fox. It has happened before and I am sure that you will be able to control it yourself." Stated Inoichi.

"I'm going to try and if that doesn't work then I will do all in my power to make sure the Fox is locked up for good and never does anything to hurt anyone ever again." Stated Naruto as he started rub his eyes badly.

"Something wrong with your eyes?" asked Inoichi.

"Ever since that genjutsu was placed on me my eyes have been burning like hell. It is starting to get annoying, but I'm sure nothing is wrong since this is only in my mind." Stated Naruto.

"That is true…I will have to leave now and report. I'm glad to say that it doesn't seem like there are any adverse effects." Said Inoichi as he shimmered and disappeared.

"So do you know why my eyes are burning?" asked Naruto.

"_Whispers from the Void tell of a prophesized one that would have the eyes of a god." _Stated Zeratul.

"That doesn't help…" deadpanned Naruto.

"_All in good time Young One."_ Stated Zeratul.

X  
>X<br>X

It had been a two days since Naruto had been admitted to the Hospital and the village's repairs were nearly complete. The walls were taking a little while to build, but having three snakes smash through it does that to a wall.

Another thing that came out of the aftermath was a new alliance with Suna stronger than before. It remade the rules so Suna would no longer have the short end of the stick when it came to deals. Gaara had even come to Naruto's room and told Hinata to tell Naruto that he was deeply sorry before leaving with his siblings.

Around 3 p.m. on the second day Naruto finally woke up to find Hinata sitting at his bed reading a medical ninjutsu book she must have gotten from a doctor. Naruto at first just wanted to get away from her, but Inoichi and Zeratul's words came back to him.

He couldn't bring himself to do something like that to her. It would break her heart if he did something like that and to be honest it would break his too. So instead he sat there staring at her with a small smile on his face.

She sat there for a whole five minutes just reading her book as Naruto marveled at the fact that she had yet to notice him. So finally he got fed up and decided to alert her to his presence.

"You know you're cute when you're focused like that." Stated Naruto causing Hinata to squeak and bolt of the seat.

"Naruto!" yelled Hinata in surprise and happiness as she hugged the boy as much as she could.

"Are you alright?" she asked quickly after Naruto had given her a quick kiss on the lips.

"I'm okay I just saw some things that shook me to my very core. It seemed real and the pain was unbearable." Stated Naruto as he started to scratch his reddening eyes.

"Damn my eyes are irritating!" stated Naruto as he rubbed them even harder.

"Are you okay? Should I go get a doctor?" she asked in worry.

"That won't be needed Ms. Hyuga as I am already here." Stated the doctor as he went over to examine Naruto.

"It seems that your pupils are wide and blood is rushing to your eyes. I haven't seen something like this before in sometime, but I'm sure that everything will be alright in the end." Stated the doctor.

"I have only one question will he be good enough to go on a mission in the next three days?" came the voice of Jiraiya from the window.

"Yo Pervy Sage! How is everything? Did you get that Teme Itachi in that battle or did he escape and is everyone okay? Also, what did you mean by mission?" asked Naruto quickly.

"Easy there Gaki! Itachi was able to escape as we had more pressing issues to deal with at the time like the invasion and your condition. So far from what I have learned everyone you know made it out of the battle okay and well. Last, you and I have a mission from Sarutobi to go look for my former teammate and bring her back to the village." Stated Jiraiya as Naruto looked at him curiously.

"What about Gaara and the Sand Village?" asked Naruto.

"Gaara came in yesterday before he left. He wanted to tell you that he was sorry and that you showed him the light." Answered Hinata.

"Yes, and the Sand Village now even has a closer alliance with us here. You know what they say "The enemy of my enemy is my friend". Well they want Orochimaru's blood after he killed their Kazekage." Finished Jiraiya.

"I'm glad Gaara is better…I couldn't stand to see a fellow jinchuriki suffer like he does. Also it's good that we now have an ally if Orochimaru ever tries to attack again." Said Naruto as he started to rub his eyes even more than before.

"Are you okay Gaki? You seem to be rubbing your eyes quite a bit now." Asked Jiraiya.

"I don't know? My eyes are burning even more than before! This has never happened before!" ground out Naruto as he gritted his teeth in pain.

"Maybe you should get some ice on those eyes?" stated Jiraiya, but Naruto was already out of his seat and at the sink in the room washing his eyes out.

"My eyes are bleeding!" yelled Naruto as the two others in the room rushed over to help him, but Naruto pushed them away. He screamed in pain one last time before the pain suddenly evaporated.

Naruto washed his eyes and face off before he finally looked into the mirror to see what had caused his eyes to bleed and gasped in surprise of what was staring back.

"What they hell is up with my eyes!" yelled Naruto causing the two others in the room to look at him with questioning gazes.

"What's wrong with your eyes Naruto?" asked Hinata as Naruto slowly turned to face them.

"Yeah, you suddenly developed bug eyes or someth…" started Jiraiya, but his sentence was caught in his throat as he saw Naruto's new eyes. They reminded him of a time in his past during the 2nd Shinobi War. The familiar ripple stared at questioningly as Jiraiya could only mutter one word in astonishment.

"Rinnegan…" whispered Jiraiya.

X

X  
>X<br>X

There you guys go the seventh chapter of my longest story to date and probably my best written so far! This chapter was extremely fun to write as there was so much that I could do ranging from the Leaf being destroyed to Naruto literally summoning a massive horde of Zerg to kill all of his enemies, but I didn't think that would work.

So I have one month of college left before Summer Vacation and let me tell you this I am counting the days until I am released from the hell known as College! I'm taking three tests a week with two projects due a week and it sucks!

Oh my poll on your most favorite species in Star Craft is now done! The results weren't too surprising at least in my opinion…IN YOUR FACE **LEAF RANGER**! LOL JUST KIDDING!

THE RESULTS ARE AS FOLLOWS

PROTOSS - 17

TERRAN - 7

ZERG - 6

HYBRID - 6

Don't forget to check out the new poll that I will be putting up now that my old one is down. It will be about which of my stories you all have enjoyed the most so far. Also don't forget to check out the challenges I have posted to my page.

I really am looking forward to the possible stories that some of you can make in the future!

Auf Wiedersehn! ICHeart!


	8. Forging One's Fate

_**You guys are awesome!**_

Yo What's Up? I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter of my story, which I'm pretty

sure you did considering the reviews I got so thanks! This has been my longest story to date by over ten thousand words and after this chapter is complete it will be some 20,00 words!

I won't lie I really hope that I can break the 200 review mark after this chapter is completed although I doubt I won't due to all of the positive reviews I have received. So it would mean the world to me if everyone would just contribute to that so I can have one of my dreams to come true in Fanfiction!

I know…I sound selfish, but I can't help it when it comes to this mark!

Now I am happy to say that the reviews I got for the past three chapters were exactly what I was expecting considering the fact that most of you who reviewed like the changes I put into the story.

Now one last thing before the chapter starts I would like you to know that Naruto is going to kick some ass…lots of ass…haha!

**Forging One's Fate**

"Rinne what?" asked Naruto as he stared at Jiraiya with his purple eyes with five rings surrounding the pupil.

"You have the Rinnegan! The eyes of legend that are said to be a gift from the gods for all of those who possess it!" exclaimed Jiraiya.

"Well you must have seen it before if you know what they are from first glance! If they are to be handed out by the gods then who had them before me?" asked Naruto as Jiraiya began to think.

"So does this mean that I have a Dojutsu like yours Hinata?" asked Naruto curiously.

"I don't know…all Dojutsu do different things. However, most of them usually allow one to see better than someone with eyes that are not a Dojutsu." Stated Hinata as she looked at his eyes curiously.

"Well at least now I see your pretty face even more now Hinata." Stated Naruto causing Hinata to blush. Naruto pulled her hand over and whispered into her ear.

"I kinda like seeing you in this new kind of way." Whispered Naruto causing Hinata to shiver before he gave her kiss on the cheek.

"Aha now I remember their names!" exclaimed Jiraiya.

"You're still here Pervy Sage?" asked Naruto, but Jiraiya just continued.

"It was during the Second Ninja War I trained three kids from Ame to fight to protect themselves. One of them…Nagato activated the Rinnegan while his best friend, Yahiko, was in danger. All that I learned was that it had a variety of powers, but one of them manipulated gravity." Stated Jiraiya.

"So you've just happened to train two of the know users of the Rinnegan? If I didn't know any better I would say it's the way you smell that gives people the eyes." Stated Naruto causing Hinata to giggle.

"What do you mean I smell?"" asked Jiraiya as he started to sniff his arm pits.

"It is kind of self explanatory…you do spend your time in mud a lot." Answered Naruto.

"Shut up Gaki! Anyway it's best if we try and hide those eyes of yours so that other nations don't find out." Stated Jiraiya.

"Can you shut them off like I can with my Byakugan?" Asked Hinata.

"I don't know? How can you shut them off Hinata?" asked Naruto as he looked at his eyes in the mirror.

"When we turn of the Byakugan we just cut off the chakra flow to our eyes." Answered Hinata.

"Is that it?" asked Naruto as he focused on his eyes and cut off the flow. Slowly the Rinnegan faded to be replaced with his bright blue eyes.

"It worked!" shouted Naruto in excitement.

"That's good, last thing we want are for all the nations to come after you to get their hands on those eyes. We should also train you on how to utilize them while we go and search for my student." Stated Jiraiya.

"That's a good idea." Agreed Naruto as he played with turning his eyes on and off. "You know I don't even feel the strain on my chakra system from activating my eyes." Stated Naruto.

"That's because of your fox. By the way Sarutobi wanted to see you as soon as you woke up. He said he had a couple things to discuss with you about the invasion and the exams. If I were you I would go see him as soon as you can." Stated Jiraiya as he got ready to jump out the window.

"Where are you going Pervy Sage?" asked Naruto.

"To do some research…what else?" asked Jiraiya as he gave Naruto a goofy grin before jumping.

"What does he mean by research Naruto?" asked Hinata curiously.

"You don't want to know Hinata…by the way don't go to the Hot Springs until Jiraiya and I leave for our missions. I would rather not have your personal space violated." Said Naruto as Hinata blushed brightly at that information.

"Oh…that Pervert!" yelled Hinata as Naruto laughed at the expression on her face.

"Why do you think I call him Pervy Sage? Anyway we better go see the Hokage now!" said Naruto as he got out of bed and changed while Hinata looked away with a blush.

"Are you sure I'm allowed to come Naruto? I mean the Hokage only wanted to see you." Asked Hinata.

"I'm sure it's alright. Besides whatever he tells me I'm probably going to tell you anyway so better to hear it with than later from me. So lets go!" yelled Naruto as he jumped out the window with Hinata following.

Right after they jumped the doctor entered the room and looked around for his patient. "Um…doesn't he know that he needs to sign out?" asked the doctor as he looked out the window.

Naruto and Hinata quickly made it to the Hokage's tower and walked past the guards straight up to his office. Instead of knocking like a normal person Naruto just walked up the door and kicked it right open.

Inside were Shikamaru and the 3rd Hokage both talking until the doors were slammed open causing Shikamaru to pull out a kunai and the Hokage to just smile.

"Heyyy Jiji!" yelled Naruto as he walked into the room with a big smile on his face and a nervous Hinata following him.

"Ahh Naruto and Hinata! What a pleasant surprise! I was just talking to Shikamaru here about the exams, which includes you. You can stay if you wish Hinata." Smiled the old Hokage.

"Really what do you want to talk to Shikamaru and me about?" asked Naruto as he slapped Shikamaru on his back causing the boy to mumble a bit.

"Well some of the examiners were surprised about the tactics you two used during the exam along with your skills. It has been decided that both of you will both receive the Rank of Chuunin among our ninja." Stated the Hokage with a smile.

Shikamaru looked dismayed at having to be promoted to jounin for reasons that many people could probably guess at. Namely he was too lazy to do the harder missions, which would mean he would have to train even harder than before, and considering that Naruto is a chuunin too the boy would want to train with him.

Hinata smiled at her boyfriend in pure joy for him. He had tried so hard to get where he was and no one deserved it more than he did. No one knew the pain he felt as he was growing up, though Hinata was starting to get a feel for it as she didn't want him to suffer anymore. This was probably one of his greatest days of his life.

"Yes!" shouted Naruto in ecstasy as he pumped his fist in the air with a giant smile on his face. He spun around grabbing Hinata by the arm and pulling her into a kiss making her eep in the process.

"Yes I'm sure you are all happy, but there is more that I have to talk about. Naruto during the invasion you showed great skill and contributed to saving of a number of people with your clones and summoning of Gamabunta. Many of my Shinobi were quite outraged to learn that you would only be getting the rank of chuunin for the invasion so I had to do something that hasn't been done for some time." Stated the Hokage as the three ninja before him looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean Lord Hokage?" asked Shikamaru. 'Please tell me that Naruto will have more responsibility than me in the next few years.'

"Well I am proud to say that I was coerced in making Naruto's promotion a bit more grand. You see Naruto you are this village's first Elite Chuunin in over 20 years for going above and beyond the Call of Duty in the defense of the village." Stated the Hokage as Naruto's mouth dropped.

"What does that mean Lord Hokage?" asked Hinata as Naruto was to awed to speak.

"It basically means that Naruto will have command over any other chuunin on a mission and the half-step from being a Jounin." Said the Hokage.

"But are you sure that I'm ready for a responsibility like that Jij? I just got promoted to chuunin…I don't have the experience." Stated Naruto.

"That was my only argument against promoting you Naruto, but during the invasion your clones performed over 50 official missions in defense of the leaf. Seeing as how all of those memories are in your head now…it's safe to say that you have experience." Stated the Hokage.

"I don't know what to say…" said Naruto.

"Don't say anything…just accept this from your Hokage. Now it is tradition to announce to the village all those who become chuunin during the exams. This will be done tomorrow where we will honor all those who died." Said the Hokage.

"Is it time Jiji?" asked Naruto as both Hinata and Shikamaru looked surprised by what the Hokage was saying.

"It is time Naruto. Now there will be some consequences of you announcing your heritage. Your entry in the bingo books will most likely go up to A-Rank and Iwa will want your head. Then the civilians might deny it." Stated the Hokage.

"Let them deny it…as long as the Shinobi believe me it doesn't matter. If Iwa want's me dead then they will have to worry about a ninja who trains his hardest everyday of his life." Stated Naruto as the Hokage smiled at him.

"Very well you three are allowed to leave." Stated the Hokage, but Naruto and Hinata stayed behind.

"What is it that the two of you want?" asked the Hokage.

"Well after I was put into Itachi's Tsykumoi I went through such emotional damage that it awakened something in me." Stated Naruto slowly.

"What do you mean 'awakened'?" asked the Hokage. He gasped in surprise as Naruto's eyes shifted to those of the Rinnegan.

"The Rinnegan! The eyes of the Sage of Six Paths! Said to be the most powerful of Dojutsu and eyes that sealed away the Juubi!" exclaimed Sarutobi in shock and awe.

"So does that mean you know about what it does?" asked Naruto in excitement as he Sarutobi shook his head.

"No, all that I have learned about the eye is that it is mentioned in manuscripts from the past. One of them had drawing of the eye and that is why I recognized it." Stated the Hokage as Naruto nodded.

"You better go and train those eyes of yours. Everyone will want your eyes if they find out that you have them." Stated the Hokage.

"That can wait for a little while Jiji. First I have to take my girlfriend out to eat before I can even worry about training! Today we feast!" exclaimed Naruto as walked out of the office with a blushing Hinata.

"Where are we going to eat Naruto?" asked Hinata curiously.

"Well sorry if it isn't too nice, but I thought Ichiraku's would be a nice place to go to eat. I haven't seen them for a while and they have always been nice to me." Said Naruto as Hinata smiled.

"That's okay Naruto. They seem really nice." Said Hinata as they made it to the building.

"Hey Old Man Ichiraku! I hope you liked all the money you earned for all my hard work!" boasted Naruto as he entered the shop to see Teuchi and Ayame both smiling brightly at him.

"Naruto! Good to see you kicking but in the exams! I made a killing off the bets, the last one was given back for free since they weren't finished. However I still made a killing in money!" stated the man.

"So Naruto who's that behind you there?" asked Ayame with a smile.

"Oh! This is my girlfriend Hinata Hyuga! Hinata, this is Ayame Ichiraku and her dad Teuchi Ichiraku!" introduced Naruto as Hinata bowed to the two and offered her greetings.

"Polite aren't you? Well that's good someone has to teach this kid some manners." Laughed Teuchi as he went in the back to start making the Ramen.

Hinata blushed the praise and sat by Naruto as Ayame interrogated the two about their relationship. After a few embarrassing things from Ayame, Teuchi came out with their ramen.

While they were eating they were discussing a few things until they came to something Naruto wanted to get off his chest.

"So remember when you said that you considered me an Ichiraku?" asked Naruto as Hinata looked at him in surprise.

"Sure do! Don't tell me you don't want to be an Ichiraku anymore?" asked Teuchi as he frowned at Naruto.

"No! It's just that I learned who my parents were. I was just going to say that despite the fact that I now know my real family you two will always be part of my actual family." Said Naruto as he smiled at them.

"So you finally figured it out huh? I was wondering when you would notice the resemblance you had to him." Stated Teuchi as Hinata and Ayame looked at him surprise.

"Huh? You knew didn't you…all this time?" asked Naruto slowly.

"Yes I did…I was told not to tell you until I you already found out. I actually tried to adopt you before, but the civilians wouldn't allow me too. I'm sorry Naruto I should've tried harder." Stated the man.

"So you were my fathers teammate? I was wondering who it was…" said Naruto as he offered a small smile.

"I can tell you about him some time if you want?" offered Teuchi.

"I would like that…thank you." Said Naruto.

"Wait, who was your father Naruto?" asked Ayame.

"My father was the 4th Hokage Minato Namikaze." Stated Naruto with a proud smile as Ayame gaped like a fish at that piece of information.

"You're the 4th's son! Then why did the Hokage let the village hate you like that? You would've been haled as a hero!" exclaimed Ayame.

"I would be, but I would've probably been killed by Iwa when I was two and besides at least I know who I can trust now." Smiled Naruto as he pulled Hinata closer to him.

"You two make such a cute couple!" gushed Ayame as she went back to her duties.

"Come by any time and I will be glad to tell you about your father." Stated Teuchi with a smile.

"Thanks…I am going to be on a mission for some time so it won't be till I get back. Thanks a lot for believing in me too." Stated Naruto with a big smile.

"Haha don't worry about it kid. Just go take your girlfriend somewhere nice now instead of something like this crummy ramen bar!" laughed Teuchi as Naruto nodded and walked out the bar with Hinata following behind him.

"Here let's go to the Hokage Monumen! I know this great view that will leave you breathless!" said Naruto as Hinata smiled back to reply.

"I would like that Naruto." Said Hinata as Naruto took her hand and the two walked up to the monument.

On the way up they conversed about various things in the village like how everyone did and who they fought. Half way up the mountain Naruto noticed a familiar presence and groaned at who it was.

"What do you want Sasuke?" said Naruto as Sasuke dropped down in front of them.

"Is it true? Was my brother really here during the invasion?" asked Sasuke in a whisper.

Naruto looked at him for a second before responding in a way that clearly defined Naruto's opinion of Itachi.

"Yes he was…the next time I see him I will make him pay for what he did to me." Said Naruto as his eyes steeled over.

"Well you will have to get in line first. I will be the one to kill him…it has to be me and me alone. What did he do to you?" asked Sasuke.

"He showed me a Demon version of me killing everyone I love…you don't have to fight him alone. I will help you when the time comes. We both owe him one now Sasuke." Said Naruto trying to reason with Sasuke.

"I have to be the one to do it to get justice for my clan! He killed them all Naruto!" said Sasuke with a bit of anger.

"He has hurt a lot of people Sasuke. I am one of those people, when the time comes for you to fight him I will help whether you want me to or not." Stated Naruto as he walked by the stunned Sasuke with Hinata at his side.

'Do I need to fight him on my own?' questioned Sasuke as he left them and went back to his house.

"Geeze at this rate we will never get some alone time." Stated Naruto.

"It's okay…I just like being around you Naruto." Answered Hinata.

"Eh really? I didn't think I was that interesting…you on the other hand! I love being around you Hinata, you make me feel wanted. It is the best feeling in the world to me!" said Naruto as he pecked Hinata on the cheek, causing her blush.

"But you make me feel safe and stronger. Whenever I am with you I feel confident and proud of myself. So it should be me thanking you." Retorted Hinata as she gave Naruto a kiss on the cheek.

They both reached the top of the monument and found a nice spot to sit at as they watched the village. Neither said a thing as they gazed at the village for nothing needed to be said. All that mattered to them was the one sitting next to them.

A few hours later the sun had set and the two had reluctantly made their way down to the village. Naruto was escorting Hinata as it was proper for any man to escort their date home.

As they were approaching the compound Naruto got a chill up his spine that he had felt before on many occasions. So acting on instinct Naruto grabbed Hinata and jumped out of the way of three kunai heading towards the two of them.

"Hinata activate your Byakugan and see how many are attacking us!" yelled Naruto as he continued to jump with Hinata as the kunai kept coming.

"There's only one Naruto. I can jump to…go get rid of this jerk!" said Hinata with an edge in her voice. 'How dare this person interfere with my alone time with Naruto!'

"Roger." Said Naruto with a smirk as he dropped Hinata off at a building and pulled out his Kunai.

Thanks to his experience with using the void Naruto could easily sense the Shinobi now that they had given their position away. He skillfully blocked and dodged kunai and shuriken as he made his way to the ninja.

The man was dressed in dark clothing with a hood covering his face preventing Naruto to see who it was. 'Well I'm just going to have to change that.' Thought Naruto with a smirk as he threw kunai at the ninja.

The ninja easily blocked each kunai and closed the distance with Naruto starting a taijutsu bout between the two. He didn't recognize the taijutsu the ninja was using, but he could tell that he was outclassed.

It wouldn't be long before the ninja had exploited his flawed taijutsu…however he wouldn't make it easy. Naruto jumped back after being dealt a rather hard blow to his head and created two shadows to attack the nin in a pincer movement.

Naruto blinked away in a mass of shadows and reappeared 10 meters above the ninja who had just started dodging the attacks of Naruto's two shadows. Quickly he charged a Rasengan in his hand plummeted to the ninja.

The ninja didn't notice Naruto until it was too late and was plowed into the ground with the Rasengan. However, after the attack had dissipated it was replaced with a sign from a nearby shop, completely destroyed too.

Naruto quickly blinked away, barely dodging a kunai aimed for his neck. He reappeared behind the ninja and attacked alongside his two shadows. Thankfully, numbers seemed to have the advantage here as they began to push the ninja back.

Finally spotting another opening, the real Naruto did one handseal before sucking in a large breath of air. "Futon: Great Breakthrough!" yelled Naruto as he shot a condensed blast of air straight into the gut of the ninja.

The ninja flew across the street and impacted with a wall of one of the buildings with a grunt. Naruto approached the ninja wearily and had his kunai ready at a moments notice. Both his shadows came in and tied down the ninja as Naruto pulled back the hood to reveal…

Iruka Umino there with a small, but proud smile on his face to Naruto's shock.

"It seems you passed his test Naruto." Said Iruka with a smile.

"Iruka-Sensei? What test? Why did you attack Hinata and I?" asked Naruto, who was extremely confused.

"It was a C-Rank mission from a concerned father about who his daughter was spending time with." Said Iruka with a smile.

"You mean Hiashi-Sama paid you to attack Hinata and I just to see if I was strong enough to protect his daughter. Well I guess I pass." Said Naruto with a smile.

"Not exactly Uzumaki." Came an emotionless voice from behind him causing his blood to run cold.

Naruto quickly blinked away to dodge the glowing hand that had been aimed at his back. He reappeared on a building overlooking Iruka and Hiashi Hyuga who still looked emotionless.

"You must now defeat me Uzumaki if you want to continue to be in my daughter's presence." Stated the Hyuga Head.

Naruto stared down at Hiashi with determination and got into a ready stance and uttered just three words. "So be it." Said Naruto as he jumped back to dodge the Gentle Fist attacks from an attacking Hiashi.

Naruto's shadows came in to support the original by attacking at close range in order. Naruto used this time to make a third shadow to move to a more open area and prepare a trap for the older Hyuga.

He knew the Byakugan was basically impossible to fool so he wasn't expecting the trap to work. Just to make sure that the two would be able to fight in more open ground where Hiashi wouldn't be able to kill him too quickly. But first.

"Where is Hinata?" questioned Naruto to the older Hyuga.

"She is fine, just back at the compound. She was reluctant till I explained that I would be taking care of you." Stated Hiashi with a devious smile that didn't sit well with Naruto.

Hiashi defeated both clones in no time at all and was charging Naruto before they could reform. Naruto shot Air Bullets at Hiashi, but he just weaved his way through the attacks.

Naruto ducked under an outstretched palm and tried to kick Hiashi away, but the clan head easily diverted the attack and struck a point on Naruto's leg causing it to sting quite a bit.

'Note to self…stay the hell away from him!' thought Naruto as he rolled away and threw a bunch of kunai at Hiashi, who just smirked and blocked all of them.

"Damn." Said Naruto as his two shadows joined the fight by attacking from each side, but Hiashi easily defended himself from the attack using his Byakugan. Naruto finally saw, through the eyes of his third shadow, that his traps were ready.

Now all he had to do was make it about 200 yards to the area the trap had been set up and maybe then he would be able to finish this fight before anyone got hurt. "Futon: Great Breakthrough!" yelled Naruto, making sure to have it cover a larger area than normal.

Thankfully Hiashi couldn't dodge in time and was sent back across the street giving Naruto enough time to make a run for the area the traps were set. He would merge with the shadows, but Hiashi would be able to see the chakra making it a waste.

Through the eyes of the two shadows Naruto could see that Hiashi was already on his tail, but couldn't strike him due to his shadows distracting him with Kunai and low level wind and shadow jutsu.

Naruto finally made it to the clearing and got ready at the center of the field. It was small and covered on all sides by trees. Hiashi jumped down and moved to strike the open blonde, but his hand connected with a mass of shadows showing that it had been a shadow the whole time.

"I have you now Hiashi-Sama!" yelled the real Naruto as he appeared above on one tree's and made the seal for the shadow clone jutsu. "Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu!" yelled Naruto as the tree's were soon covered with about 100+ clones of Naruto.

"Surrender Hiashi-Sama! I have more chakra than you and the only defense you will have is the Kaiten. I know for a fact that a normal Hyuga can do it about 5 times, you on the other hand can do 11 I believe. I on the other hand can do this here about 50 times!" yelled Naruto as a wave of clones jumped and descended on the Hyuga.

"Life's a bang eh?" they all shouted as they all began to glow bright white.

They all exploded in a massive explosion that covered the entire clearing. Naruto waited patiently for the dust to clear and saw Hiashi was nowhere to be found.

His eyes widened in surprise as he felt a hand connect with his back and travel all the way through his boy before it stopped. He smirked in victory a he lost all his color to become a pitch black Naruto.

Tendrils wrapped around Hiashi pinning him to the shadow preventing him from moving at all. "What is this!" he yelled as he fought as hard as he could to get free.

"That is…well I don't know what to call it." Said Naruto as he dropped down from and higher tree covered in sweat and seemed to barely be standing.

"Making that clone takes well over half my chakra so that it doesn't disperse after being hit. It traps my opponents and immobilizes them preventing them from moving." Said Naruto as he limped towards Hiashi with a kunai in his hand.

"You should've known that wasn't me. It wasn't favoring a leg like a normal person would after being hit by a Hyuga on the leg." Said Naruto as he placed a kunai at Hiashi's neck.

"That was quite impressive Uzumaki…However, do not believe for a second that you would've won if I had gone all out." Stated the Hyuga Head, causing Naruto's eyes to darken for a second.

'Don't believe for a second that I was going all out Hiashi!' thought Naruto in his head. "What is your decision?" asked Naruto.

"Very well you may continue to see my Daughter. However, if anything happens to make the Hyuga look bad you will be sought after by me." Stated Hiashi.

'Try me! You have never once cared for Hinata until now you Bastard.' Thought Naruto.

"Thank you Hiashi-sama…now if you don't mind I'm going to bed." Stated Naruto as his eyes closed and he fell down on the ground asleep.

"Iruka I expect you to be able to take him back to his building?" asked Hiashi as Iruka dropped down from another tree.

"Yes I can Hiashi-Sama." Said Iruka as he picked up the boy.

'He was able to defeat both Hiashi-Sama and me with out a rest! He really does deserve the rank of Elite Chuunin…Damn I have to get stronger!' thought Iruka as he made his way through the village.

Naruto stood at the gates holding Hinata in his arms as she didn't want him to leave for a mission that could last up to three months at the max. "Don't worry Hinata, I'm sure we will be back before that." Smiled Hinata.

"I still don't want you to go." Mumbled Hinata as Naruto laughed a bit.

"Well I don't really want to go either, but I need to train with my eyes and we do need the new Hokage." Said Naruto with a smile.

"Yeah, but I don't want to let you go." Mumbled Hinata.

"Gaki! Hurry up! We have to get moving now so we can get far enough away to train!" shouted Jiraiya.

"I have to go Hinata. I'll be back before you know it so don't worry." Said Naruto as he gave a short kiss on the lips and ran after Jiraiya who had already started leaving the village.

"Bout time you caught up Gaki. You can do those sort of things with your girl when you get back. For now though I want you to activate your Rinnegan and tell everything you notice about it." Said Jiraiya as Naruto activated his Rinnegan.

"Well I can see very clearly and if I concentrate hard enough I can see your chakra and the chakra of the plants and even rocks. I didn't even know those things had chakra." Said Naruto, a little confused.

"They don't have what we know as neutral chakra, but they do have Natural Chakra. It comes from all the living things in the universe, what you sense from the rocks are small organisms on it." Said Jiraiya.

"Wait! If there are other sources of chakra, why don't we train to use them?" asked Naruto.

"Because many of these sources of chakra can only be accessed by drawing it away from an external source. Youkai for instance is demonic chakra, but it can be harnessed to fight for short periods of time, but it is poisonous to most bodies." Explained Jiraiya as Naruto nodded.

"And what about Natural Chakra?" asked Naruto.

"That can be harnessed through intense meditation to draw on the natural chakra. I am one of the few in the world who know how to do so. Once someone learns how to manipulate natural chakra they become what is known as a Sage." Said Jiraiya.

"So you were taught by the toads on how to become a Sage and that is why you are known as the Toad Sage." Surmised Naruto.

"That is correct! Maybe one day you might learn how to be a sage from the toads, but you will have to be older first." Said Jiraiya.

"So you said your one student could manipulate gravity in some ways? What did you mean by that?" asked Naruto.

"Well he could repel objects away from him or pull things in by manipulating the gravity field around him. He called the one Shinra Tensei or Almighty Push as nothing even I could do could pierce the attack." Stated Jiraiya.

"So how would I do the attack?" asked Naruto with an excited smile on his face.

"No clue." Stated Jiraiya causing Naruto to frown in disappointment.

"Too bad, I was hoping to be able to do it right away. However, I can try now if you want?" asked Naruto.

"No we will begin your real training tomorrow. We will reach the next village by the end of the day, for now just keep them eyes activated and tell me everything you notice about your vision." Said Jiraiya.

"I can see that you have a brown and red colored chakra and I have a greenish blue chakra along with a dark crimson and a black chakra. I guess the crimson is Kyubi's and black is my shadow chakra." Said Naruto.

"You must be able to tell ones chakra affinity by looking at their chakra color. I am a fire and earth user hence the brown and red chakra, while you are a wind user hence the greenish blue chakra. However, the legend says the Rinnegan allows one to master all elements." Said Jiraiya.

"So that means I won't have an elemental weakness! That is so awesome!" exclaimed Naruto as Jiraiya scowled.

"Don't let it get to your head Gaki!" he shouted, but Naruto didn't listen and was jumping around with excitement.

'Damn Gaki, he's changed so much, but yet he is still a kid. Why did they make him a chuunin anyway?' thought Jiraiya as they continued on.

The next day the two were travelling on a path trying to make it to their first main stop. The two had spent a nice night in an inn where Naruto had questioned Jiraiya about his mother and father.

They had also discussed their training plans for the next few weeks. Each morning before leaving camp they would do a physical work out before moving on. Around noon Naruto would make 50 clones to work on his wind and shadow chakra. He himself would work on the Rinnegan, as his shadow clones couldn't use it at all.

However he learned that his shadows were able to hold the Rinnegan and it even made their moves even more in sync than before to Naruto's surprise and joy.

"How far have you gotten on your Wind Manipulation?" asked Jiraiya as he watched Naruto's clones work on various stages of the chakra control exercises.

"I think that I'm ready for some B-rank jutsu now! But soon I should be ready for A-Rank if I continue at this pace." Said Naruto with a smile.

"That is impressive. You know as a side project you should start working on incorporating your wind chakra into the Rasengan." Said Jiraiya.

"Wait! You can do that?" asked Naruto with excitement.

"Well theoretically you can, but neither your father or I could manage it." Said Jiraiya.

"I guess I'm just going to have to succeed where you failed then Pervy Sage!" exclaimed Naruto with a determined look in his eyes.

"Good luck with that Gaki." Stated Jiraiya, but Naruto just smirked in response.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" yelled Naruto as he made 50 more clones.

"Start working on the new Rasengan boys!" yelled Naruto in triumph.

"That's cheating…" whispered Jiraiya in shock.

Two weeks later the two hadn't gotten any further in their search for Tsunade. They had been to 6 villages and one city that Naruto enjoyed quite a bit, as he spent time playing with the little kids of an orphanage and showed them his ninja tricks.

Naruto's training had also granted him some amazing results. His speed and taijutsu were still chuunin level, but his wind jutsu level was Jounin level at what Jiraiya had said. He had even learned two new jutsu that were B-rank.

His void manipulation had also improved where he could blink faster than before. Merge with his shadows quicker and even turn invisible for short periods of time by warping the light around him.

Zeratul had said this last ability is similar to a chakra control exercise in which eventually it will be natural to him. However, one could sense his chakra presence if they tried hard enough.

His shadows were doing better than before and took less chakra to use. Thanks to his chakra control and void manipulation lessons with both Jiraiya and Zeratul

Then there was his Rasengan training and let's just say that it wasn't working out too well. He had just started to combine them, but it too way too much chakra to do and the Rasengan would usually explode right after starting.

Last was his Rinnegan, which he had started to understand the gravity control aspects of the eye. It was during a spar where Jiraiya had thrown a kunai at Naruto, that passed by his defenses. Suddenly the kunai had shot off in another direction a few inches away from his skin.

They had realized that at the moment most of the attacks would come naturally during a battle by instinct alone. So he had instead just started working on being able to use the Shinra Tensei on his command, which was coming along nicely.

Strange thing was that despite the fact that his shadows could use the Rinnegan, only one of them were able to do the Shinra Tensei. Although Jiraiya said that the Sage of Six Paths was called so due to the fact that the Rinnegan had six certain abilities. So they theorized that each shadow would only be able to use one of the abilities.

Now they were approaching a large city with a massive castle at the center of it. Jiraiya had stated that Tsunade liked to gamble quite a bit earning her the name "The Legendary Sucker" as she lost quite a bit. Luckily the city they were approaching was said to have many casinos

When they entered the city the first thing they noticed were the decorations around it and advertisements for a festival that very night. Hundreds of stands were up in the city center and bright lights were being set up.

"Now I really wish Hinata was here." Stated Naruto as he looked at the decorations.

"Well If I wasn't sure before, I am now. Tsunade would not miss out on an opportunity like this, there is going to be a lot of gambling tonight." Said Jiraiya.

"You think so? Any chance we can enjoy the festivities? Besides I kind of wanted to buy Hinata something while we were gone." Asked Naruto.

"Yeah, we will be here for at least three days so if you want you can enjoy the festival and buy your girlfriend a gift. Just keep an eye open for Tsunade, you do remember what she looks like in that picture right?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yeah, but wouldn't she be older now?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, she would be older, but she likes to use a genjutsu to make herself look younger so keep your eyes open." Said Jiraiya.

"No problem! Where are we staying?" asked Naruto.

"Let's go find a place now and then you can do what you want." Said Jiraiya.

So that was what brought Naruto to probably the first festival of his life that he wasn't being glared at by a single person…well at least the females. You see Naruto decided not to wear his ninja gear so he was wearing a tight t-shirt and khaki shorts.

This had the effect of having nearly every girl, from the ages of 12 to 16, swooning at the sight of him and blushing and giggling every time he smiled. It was nice, but to him there was only one girl for him and that one girl happened to be over two weeks away in Konoha.

So instead he decided to do a few festival activities from carny stands, souvenir stands, concerts, and last food eating contests that he had won hands down surprising people immensely.

The thing he really wanted to do was buy something for Hinata that wasn't' normally found in the Elemental Countries. So he walked through all the stands looking for something that he believed Hinata would like.

It took him an hour of searching, but he found what he believed would be the perfect gift for his Girlfriend. It was a necklace, but he had never seen the jewels on it before. It was an azure colored stone that the store owner had said was magical and the one who wore it could be tracked by their love to anywhere.

It was an ancient myth coming fro some land across the sea telling of a peasant boy who fell in love with noblemen's daughter. To show his love he found the stone and crafted a beautiful necklace with it and gave it to the girl.

After, that one meeting the girl fell in love with the brave and courageous peasant boy. They dated in secret for a year, before the girl was kidnapped by enemies soldiers.

No one knew where to look, but the peasant boy so he approached the nobleman for permission to lead the search for his daughter. In return he only asked that in return he was allowed to ask her for one favor that she was perfectly liable to refuse if asked.

So he was given a team of 4 men to track down the soldiers and bring the Noblemen's daughter back. For three days they travelled non-stop until they caught up with the soldiers.

Outnumbered 3-1 the peasant boy led his men into combat and slaughtered the enemy and saved his love. When they got back he asked her for her hand in marriage to which she accepted. They lived happily-ever-after yadda yadda yadda.

'Kinda reminds me of Hinata and me.' Thought Naruto with a smile as he spied a casino on the other side of the street.

"I'm feeling lucky." Said Naruto as he walked into the bar only to be stopped by a man saying only 18 year olds or ninja could enter to which Naruto showed him his identification card.

So he made his way over to a poker table and started playing. Immediately he got a feel for the game and started to stack up his winnings. After, one hour he had nearly earned 10 times the amount he started with…that was when things got interesting.

For you see a blonde hair women had spied the crowd that was hanging around a poker table. Getting interested after about 20 men had left the table grumbling about some lucky blonde. So getting up she walked over to the table and saw to her shock a blonde boy no older than 13 with a large pile of chips in front of him.

"So anyone else want to have a go?" asked Naruto with a fox like grin.

Many of the people cheered for the boy as he was a crowd favorite and some of the poker players got angry at his confidence. One of the ones who got angry was none other than the blonde haired girl…also known as Tsunade of the Sannin.

"I'll take you up on that offer." She stated as she sat down. She knew he was a ninja as only ninja were allowed to play in the casino at that age. However, the boy must've gotten rid of his headband.

"Yo, I will also be joining this game bro!" came a voice from a tanned man with sunglasses and horn tattoos on his head. It was ninja from Kumogakure that Tsunade recognized immediately…Killer Bee the Jinchuriki for the 8-Tailed Beast.

The blonde boys narrowed at the tanned man in what Tsunade perceived as anger before his eyes went to here before widening comically. So the boy knew of her? That was new.

However his eyes soon turned towards the tanned man once again. "What is your name Kumo Shinobi?" asked the boy with an edge in his voice that both ninja caught.

"The names Killer Bee, now lighten that tone before I make you flee!" rapped the jinchuriki.

"Not until you Kage apologizes to my village for what your village attempted to do during the Chuunin Exams." Replied the boy in anger.

So the boy had participated in the Chuunin Exams and Kumo must have done something to the boy or someone he cared about.

"Brat! What happens in the exams stays in the Exams! It isn't the fault of any nation for what happens during them." Stated Tsunade.

"It is when one of the villages attempts to kidnap and rape a shinobi of another village. They nearly succeeded in both before I decapitated the one with his pants down." Said the blonde as Killer Bee's eyes widened in surprise.

'Damnit A! You told me that the teams you picked would have perfect control over their emotions!' thought Bee.

"It doesn't matter! We are here to play poker…this village is neutral ground so start playing! Bartender get us a Saki bottle and three cups." Yelled Tsunade.

"Better make that three bottles!" yelled the blonde hair boy making her eyes go wide. 'I like this Brat!' she thought.

"I guess it would be an honor to drink with the Legendary Sucker and the 8-Tailed Jinchuriki." Stated Naruto.

"So you know of me." Stated Tsunade.

"Everyone knows of you two. Although I don't respect your village, you have earned my respect in learning how to control your beast." Stated the blonde with envy.

"Really? I thought you hated Kumo boy?" asked Bee.

"I do, but she is right. It happened in the exams so there is nothing I can do." Stated the boy.

"So what is your name?" asked Tsunade with curiosity.

"Naruto Uzumaki…Elite Chuunin of Konohagakure." Stated the blonde causing Tsunade's eyes to widen. Of course this was Kushina's child!

"The Shadow of Konoha? You have garnered quite a reputation lately boy." Stated Bee.

"Tell me about it…now lets get this started!" said Naruto as he dealt the cards.

Two hours later there were three drunken Shinobi all singing some weird song while playing the last hands of their decks. Naruto had of course won most of the hands, but Bee won the rest while Tsunade had won none at all…surprise surprise…

"Damn this! All or nothing!" yelled Tsunade at the blonde haired chuunin.

"You have no more money left." Said Naruto perplexed at this. However, Tsunade just smirked in response to this.

"How about this! If you win I will give you this necklace here that was worn by the First Hokage. However, if I win I get all that money!" said Tsunade.

"Deal." Stated Naruto with out a moments hesitation.

So they were both handed out their cards and Tsunade smirked in victory as the cards were 10 of hearts, Jack of Hearts, Queen of Hearts, and King of Hearts. "Ha I win!" yelled Tsunade as she laid down the 9 of hearts.

"Not so fast!" said Naruto as he laid down the Ace of Hearts. "I'm pretty sure that I win." Smiled Naruto as he grabbed the necklace from the middle of the pile.

She was about to take it back by force before she heard a voice she was hoping not to hear for sometime. "Well if it isn't my old friend Tsunade! Naruto what are you doing!" yelled Jiraiya.

Naruto was arm in arm with Killer Bee singing Na Na Na Naaa Hey Hey Hey Good Bye over and over again while laughing and pointing at Tsunade.

"That Gaki is drunk as hell!" exclaimed Jiraiya.

"Well what do you expect! He is a ninja after all!" said Tsunade as she sobered herself up with a jutsu.

"Look Tsunade we need you back in the village to become the next Hokage. Sarutobi-sensei can't do it anymore and he trusts the position in your hands." Said Jiraiya.

"No." stated Tsunade as she stood up and left the casino with Jiraiya on her tail.

Meanwhile Killer Bee and Naruto were discussing some important things. "I guesssss not all Kumo ninja are soooo bad!" slurred Naruto.

"Yeah weee aren't at alllll! I will let A know that this Hinata isss off limitssss." Said Killer Bee as Naruto smiled back.

"Yeah! Maybe he can stop being a jerk then!" exclaimed Naruto as Bee laughed back.

"Don't worry about it my new friend! I will be talking to A about you!" said Bee as the two parted ways to finish whatever missions they were on.

That morning Naruto woke without a single pain from drinking that much the night before, but he just wrote it off as the Kyubi. He stood up to see Jiraiya standing there grinning at him like a madman.

"Jeeze you can hold your alcohol kid! All the adults in town now know of you as lucky drunk rich kid now. But seriously we have a problem. I believe Orochimaru is in the city." Stated Jiraiya as Naruto looked shocked.

"How do you know that?" asked Naruto.

"I can smell the snake on Tsunade. He must've come here yesterday and spoken to Tsunade after the Casino when she gave me the slip. He must have offered her something quite important for her to have not killed him on the spot." Said Jiraiya.

"So what is the plan?" asked Naruto.

"We are going to wait and when he makes his move we will attack. Hopefully she joins, but if she doesn't then we will retreat. You will take care of any subordinate that he has with him." Explained Jiraiya as Naruto nodded.

"So what do we do till then?" asked Naruto.

"We train." Smiled Jiraiya as Naruto nodded in determination.

"So mind telling me why you brought this little brat with you." Came the voice of Tsunade from the bedroom door.

"Oh he is my new apprentice, but at the pace he is going it won't be long till he surpasses me." Chuckled Jiraiya as Tsunade gave him a confused look.

"How can a Gaki like him ever surpass you? He looks like a wimp!" exclaimed Tsunade.

"Hmph this wimp as you put it drank you under the table last night Old Lady." Retorted Naruto with a smirk.

"What did you say!" shouted Tsunade as her face turned bright red in anger.

"You heard me Old Lady!" retorted Naruto putting emphasis on Old Lady.

"Brat I am going to crush you into a pulp!" shouted Tsunade.

"Bring it on! I've had worse threats from a squirrel!" yelled Naruto getting to his feet.

"Fine Brat! Outside now!" she yelled as she made her way to the street with Naruto and Jiraiya following behind.

They made it outside where Tsunade made her way to the other end of the street and smirked at Naruto with anxiousness. She held up her pinky and stated with a voice full of confidence. "I will only use my pinky and that is all it will take." She said.

Naruto gaped at her before laughing at her. " A finger? You think that you will be able to beat me with that? Either you're better than they say or you're severely underestimating me!" laughed Naruto.

"You do know her skills right Naruto?" asked Jiraiya with concern.

"Of course! She is supposed to be the greatest medic alive and has super strength that can send anything flying. Don't worry though I don't plan to underestimate her." Said Naruto as he crouched down and undid his weights.

He laid them down at his feel so Tsunade never had an idea that Naruto was wearing quite a bit of weight. Naruto stood up and got into his stance while watching the smug looking Sannin.

"Here I come!" yelled Naruto as he shot at Tsunade.

"Attacking head on will get you know where!" she shouted as she shoved her finger into the ground causing a large stone block to shoot up in front of Naruto.

Naruto quickly moved around the block of stone and was upon the Sannin, yet even if she was using one arm she was still a little faster than Naruto and could keep up. Plus one hit could knock him out so he had to be careful.

Tsunade herself couldn't believe that this Gaki was keeping her on her toes. It was humiliating for her to be bested by a chuunin. So with a heavy heart she was forced to take a swing at the ground with her whole fist to prevent the blonde from landing a devastating blow.

Naruto flew back from the shockwave with an awe filled expression on his face. He knew she was strong, but being able to create a 10 foot crater with one punch was unbelievable.

"Looks like you've already lost Old Lady, but I'm not going to hold you over it. I never would've considered it a win unless you went all out in the first place." Said Naruto with a smile.

"You won't be so lucky this time Brat!" growled out Tsunade as Naruto smiled before blinking away to Tsunade's shock.

"Rasengan!" yelled Naruto as he fell towards Tsunade as she barely was able to bring up a thick slab of rock to block the attack. However, the Rasengan easily drilled through the slab forcing Tsunade to dive away at the last second.

"You learned the Rasengan!" she exclaimed in shock.

"Learned it in less than a week too!" said Naruto with a smile as Tsunade spluttered before she regained a calm expression.

"Why don't we make another bet?" she asked as Naruto smirked in response.

"What do you have in mind?" asked Naruto.

"Let me think? Hmm I heard you have been learning how to control your elements. I bet that you won't be able to create a jutsu that impresses me by the end of the week." Smirked Tsunade.

"How much are we talking about here?" asked Naruto.

"Just a basic combination. Something not even Jiraiya has been able to do yet Brat." Said Tsunade.

"What are the stakes?" asked Naruto.

"If you win I will come back to the village and hear out Sarutobi-Sensei. If I win I get everything you got last night at the festival." Said Tsunade.

"Deal!" responded Naruto instantly forgetting that it included Hinata's gift until…

"Don't forget though Brat…that includes this pretty little necklace I found in your bag last night." Said Tsunade as she pulled out the gemstone necklace causing Naruto to narrow his eyes.

"If that is how you want to do this then fine. I wasn't going to use Shadow Clones, but now there's something more at risk here." Said Naruto with determination.

For the next week Naruto and Jiraiya trained while keeping tabs on Tsunade to make sure she didn't go to Orochimaru while their backs were turned. Sometimes Shizune, Tsunade's assistant would come with them.

Naruto's jutsu creation was almost complete too. He was working on a combination jutsu that utilized both his shadows and wind chakra. Naruto had completed it on Thursday, but waited to show Tsunade the technique on the last day to make it more enjoyable.

So Naruto found himself resting in his room when Shizune suddenly kicked open the door looking for Jiraiya. "Ne? What do you want Shizune?" asked Naruto.

"It's Lady Tsunade she did something that I didn't believe she ever would do! Where is Lord Jiraiya? I need him right now!" she said, but Naruto just waved her off.

"So Tsunade has made the decision to side with Orochimaru." Came the voice of Jiraiya from the window. He was hunched over and looked pretty much dead on his feet.

"What happened to you Pervy Sage?" asked Naruto.

"Tsunade drugged me. I guess she didn't want us to follow. Shizune get this poison out of my system so I can go stop her from healing that snake." Said Jiraiya as Shizune started to use a jutsu to remove the poison.

"I won't be able to remove all of it. You should be good in an hour though." She said.

"We don't have time to waste. Come on you two we are going after her before she gets hurt." Said Jiraiya as Naruto followed alongside him.

"I thought our plan was to retreat if she went to Orochimaru?" asked Naruto.

"It was until I saw fear in her eyes. This isn't an attempt to help Orochimaru, but to kill him. I don't think she wanted me to get hurt in it all." Said Jiraiya as Naruto nodded.

"So what do you think the odds will be?" asked Naruto.

"Shizune and you will fight whoever he brought along with him. I will be helping Tsunade, if she is in fighting condition, with Orochimaru. Hopefully this ends today." Stated Jiraiya as Naruto nodded.

It didn't take them long to find the area of the battle between Orochimaru and Tsunade. The smell of snakes was everywhere and the area looked like it had been bombed out.

'_Are you ready for this Young One?'_ questioned the voice of Zeratul.

'Yes I am Zeratu….whatever happens in the next hour will only be a test for what is to come. Have any idea what we are up against though?' asked Naruto in his mind.

'_I can not help you there, but I believe that you will be able to handle all that is there. You have proven yourself as a warrior of the shadows more than once before. My brethren would be proud of you. Now go forth and finish your mission.' _ Finished Zeratul as the being cut the connection to Naruto.

'Thank you Zeratul…I will make you proud.' Thought Naruto as his group came upon the sight of a bloodied Tsunade about to be killed by a ninja that Naruto recognized.

'Kabuto is a traitor?' asked Naruto as he threw 5 kunai at the silver haired traitor.

"My is this is reunion of the Sannin today and their apprentices?" asked Orochimaru with a smirk. He stood on a large snake with one of his arms missing, courtesy of Zeratul two weeks earlier.

"I guess you could say that my old friend. Although I doubt we will have anymore in the future." Stated Jiraiya as he quickly dispatched the snake with a Rasengan as Orochimaru jumped back.

"You have no idea how true that is kukuku…" laughed Orochimaru as he engaged Jiraiya. They were pretty even considering the fact that Orochimaru had one arm and Jiraiya was poisoned.

"Come on Old Lady! What is wrong with you?" asked Naruto as he shook Tsunade.

"You should realize by now that Tsunade is rather detached at the moment Naruto-kun. If I were you I'd be worried though." Stated Kabuto with a smirk, but it turned into a frown as Shizune stepped in front Naruto.

"I will be your opponent." She declared as she got into a stance.

"Don't leave me out of this fight. I am after all a chuunin now and not some rookie gennin." Stated Naruto as we stepped up beside Shizune.

"Two to one odds don't seem that fair in my opinion. Oh well I've been itching to fight you for some time Naruto; I will just have to get rid of the girl before I have my real fight with you." Said Kabuto as his hands glowed a dull blue.

"Watch it, those are chakra scalpels. If he hits you the chakra can sever nerves and cut muscles to shreds, but it does no outward damage." Said Shizune.

"So it is like the Juken, but works on the body instead of the chakra system. Focus on dodging instead of blocking and we should be alright." Said Naruto.

"Don't think it will be that easy Naruto-kun!" Yelled Kabuto as he charged the two, but he was forced back as a hail of senbon shot at him from Shizune.

Naruto took the initiative and started to send his shadows at the traitor. Kabuto ducked and weaved his way through the attacks with ease, but he was getting annoyed considering the fact that he seemed to be growling.

"This is starting to get a little tedious." He announced, but neither Naruto nor Shizune seemed to care as they focused on keeping him at a distance.

Kabuto finally made a mistake and was pilfered with senbon from Shizune. He quickly pulled them out and ran a medical jutsu over his harm causing the poison to leak out.

"I guess he is a skilled medic." Stated Naruto as he blinked away.

"Don't think that trick will work against me Naruto." Said Kabuto as he shot his arm backwards to block a strike from him. Just as Kabuto was about to strike again Naruto blinked away and appeared above him.

"How about this then!" yelled Naruto as three shadows grew out around Kabuto.

"Futon: Drilling Air Bullets!" yelled Naruto as he shot three large balls of air at Kabuto.

Kabuto would've dodged, but each shadow had jumped at him and held him tightly preventing him from dodging the balls of air that connected with his chest and face. Each clone let go and joined the original next to Shizune.

"That should've got him." Stated Naruto, but he was then surprised to see Kabuto slowly stand up and face the two ninja. His nose was broken and his face was bruised. He also seemed to be breathing heavily and favoring one of his legs.

"That was an impressive attack…although you will have to do better." He wheezed out as his face started to heal quickly and nose reset it's position.

"How the heck did that just happen?" asked Naruto.

"An old ability of mine that I have enhanced quite a bit Naruto-kun. Although I'm kinda wondering something myself. How can someone like you, a dead last at the academy, become so powerful in such a short time?" asked Kabuto in curiosity.

"Pretty easy to be dead last when the whole village hates my guts. That's why I'm so powerful now compared to what I was. I grew up and worked my guts to their limits for the past few months. I don't care what others think about me. I decide my own fate not some stupid title given to me by people who hate me." Stated Naruto.

"That is quite interesting there. I was wondering if there was something special about you, but I guess I was wrong." Stated Kabuto in what seemed like a condescending remark, but Naruto could see his eyes brows twitch slightly.

"Enough of this! I am going to end this now and get back home!" yelled Naruto as he charged Kabuto with his clones.

Kabuto charged toward Naruto seemingly to meet the blonde boy head on, but at the last second he smirked and turned directions heading straight towards Tsunade, who seemed to be still in a state of shock.

Shizune tried to step into his way, but he blocked her attacks and lashed out at her knee and elbow disabling her and giving him a straight shot towards Tsunade with Naruto on his heels.

'Damn I'm not going to make it in time!' thought Naruto as he quickly blinked away.

"Sorry Tsunade, but this ends now!" declared Kabuto as he shot his hand towards her chest, but a mass of black shadows appeared in front of him before he connected and heard a grunt of pain.

Kabuto tried to jump back, but was grabbed by a firm hand keeping him from moving. He looked up to see Naruto staring at him with blood dripping from the boys mouth.

"Looks like I won the bet Old Lady." He stated as Tsunade looked at him with wide eyes.

"Void: Shadow Ripper Blast!" yelled Naruto as he shot his other hand into Kabuto's chest. When it connected a large blast of dark energy shot into Kabuto's body. If one looked closely they could see mini blades cutting deeply into Kabuto's chest as he was shot backwards across the battlefield.

"How did you like my shadow and wind combination attack." Laughed Naruto as collapsed backwards and started to cough out blood.

Shizune quickly made her way over to boy and started to try and heal him while pleading with a shocked Tsunade to help heal him.

'Why did he take that attack? He doesn't even know me and yet he did something like that! Why is it that all the good people in the world have to die like Dan and Nawaki? I can't do anything to help anyone, everyone I even start to care for just dies in front of me!' thought Tsunade as she looked at Naruto.

Suddenly images started appearing in her mind of moments between her and Dan and Nawaki. All of them happy moments that usually brought a smile to her face, but now all she got was an empty feeling. It wasn't until the last image showed itself did she finally snap out of a plague that has tormented her for years.

It was a picture of Nawaki smiling at her, but then it morphed to be a picture of Naruto in the same pose as her brother. It was in that moment that she realized that she had to go on and stop living in the past.

"Lady Tsunade! I can't do this! Please help him!" shouted Shizune as Tsunade blinked and shook her head before looking at Naruto.

"Shizune! Give me some of your chakra! If I know what happened to him then there is little time before I can do nothing!" ordered Tsunade as she began to heal the blonde.

X  
>X<br>X

"So this is what it is like to die?" asked Naruto as his world crumpled around him.

"_There is no such thing as dyeing. One only moves on to their next adventure like I did." _ Stated Zeratul as he walked up beside Naruto.

"Still I was hoping that I would be able to say good bye to Hinata and tell her how much she means to me. I was also hoping that I would be able to help that furball in losing his hatred." Stated Naruto silently.

"_All is not lost Naruto. I have seen your species do things that I never thought was possible. It was a human that decided the fate of three species in their survival. Until you are dead nothing is impossible." _Stated Zeratul as Naruto smiled a bit.

"Speak of the devil." Mumbled Naruto as he watched his world begin to reform.

"_You just need a little more faith." _Joked Zeratul

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<p>

"I think I stabilized him, but only time will tell. Thank god he has the Kyubi or he would've died." Stated Tsunade as Shizune smiled.

"That's good…It's good to have you back Lady Tsunade." Stated Shizune with a smile.

"Tsunade look out!" yelled Jiraiya as the two women turned to see Orochimaru's head coming towards Naruto with a sword sticking out of his mouth.

Tsunade immediately dove in front of the blade and stopped it from piercing Naruto by just an inch. She coughed as she glared at Orochimaru as he looked at her in amusement.

"Shame, I wanted the Kyubi Brat, but you are satisfactory." Stated Orochimaru, but he eyes widened as Tsunade grabbed the blade and broke it in half to his surprise.

"You should've just left him alone Orochimaru." Whispered Tsunade as she pulled the blade out of her abdomen. "Now I'm going to kill you." She finished as a seal appeared on her forehead and the wound closed up in an instant.

Orochimaru tried to jump back, but was slammed by a fist to the face courtesy of Tsunade. His neck retracted to his body, but he wasn't fast enough to dodge yet another kick from Tsunade.

This beatdown lasted for a few more minutes before Orochimaru was able to make his escape with an injured Kabuto. Both of them left the battle in much worse condition than when it started.

Although the Silver Haired Traitor Kabuto left with a thought on his mind on how someone like Naruto could defy those who sought to control him.

Did that mean that he didn't always have to serve a master in the future? Could he perhaps become his own master?

X  
>X<br>X

So here they were on their way back to Konoha with Naruto leading the pack with the 1st's necklace around his neck and a small smile one his face. Behind him were Tsunade and Jiraiya discussing what the other had been up to since they last saw each other and last was Shizune holding her pig…

They soon came within sight of Konoha and Naruto's smile morphed into a full out smile as they approached the gates.

"Oi Gaki! Stop smiling like that! You're starting to give me a headache with all of the happiness!" yelled Jiraiya as Naruto's grin just got bigger.

"Well too bad Pervy Sage! I just can't wait to see Hinata and give her the necklace!" smiled Naruto.

"I still don't believe you won that bet fairly. You weren't supposed to know two elements that well." Grumbled Tsunade.

"Eh don't worry Old Lady at least you got all your money back. Unlike that Killer Bee!" laughed Naruto.

"Wait Killer Bee?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yep, you see normally I would just kill a Kumo nin, but I made an exception for him since he has a Bijuu too." Said Naruto.

"He is also the first to ever fully control a Bijuu that has over 5 tails." Said Jiraiya as Naruto looked back at him in shock.

"Are you joking? I could've learned some tips from him!" whined Naruto as they entered the village.

"Okay Brat you can go find your girlfriend, while we go meet with the Hokage." Said Jiraiya as the three older ninja left Naruto.

"Whatever…and I was going to offer to do the paperwork. Ehh their loss." Laughed Naruto as he made five clones to look for Hinata.

It didn't take long for his clones to find Hinata, she was with her team at one of the many training grounds of the forest training. So Naruto made his way quickly across the village to them.

He got to the training ground and say Hinata standing looking at her teammates sparing. He slowly made his way to a tree above her and fell back so that his face would meet hers when she turned around.

"HELLO HINATA!" screamed Naruto.

"AHHHHHHHH!" screamed Hinata in response. She turned around and sent a devastating hit to Naruto's face sending him flying back into a tree trunk. The whole time he seemed to have a smile on his face.

"N-Naruto…?" asked Hinata as she finally got her bearings.

Well that has been my longest chapter to date while writing Fanfictions and I hoped you all enjoyed it, cause I doubt they will always be this long or written this quickly!

Seriously though I really want to thank all of you for reading my story. I know you all get this a lot, but as long as people continue to enjoy my stories I will continue to write as I just love making people happy!

Besides I only have 4 weeks of college left until SUMMER!

So I have my very first taker for one of my Challenges and that is **Ookami88**! I hope that when he get's his story out, all of you will give his story a chance! He has done a whole lot of research on it and when he gets it out I'm sure it will be a success as long as all of you read it!

So please do when it comes out! Remember any of you can also try and write the stories as I have very little restrictions. All final decisions are up to you in the end and I only will give out a few guidelines.

Thanks **Ookami88** for being the first to look at the challenge and accept it!

Auf Wiedersehn!


	9. Last of the Namikaze

Yo everyone! So I have decided to slow down my story a bit and focus on the character development for this chapter and the next. It will be different situations that will force the different teams to work together so I can mold all the Rookies into who they will be later on in the story.

So after this chapter I will be taking a break from the story for a little while as it will probably be summer and I would like to get outside quite a bit. I mean like 6 mile runs, Ruck Marches, swimming, working, and….I don't really know!

So I have so many ideas for stories it's not even funny! I want to make an Insane Naruto crossover with Hellsing, Naruto is a Sensei Story, Harry Potter is Naruto Uzumaki Story, Naruto is a Firebender Story, and a Naruto Zombie story that takes place with Modern Weapons! I have no idea what Ideas to use!

So now I have never done this in the past, but I am going to take a list of 5 stories that I have enjoyed and advertise them at the end of the page. I have never done this before, cause I believed it to be a waste of time, but I have changed my mind.

I have already posted my Hellsing Crossover entitled "Meet the Monster"!

I don't own the song 'You're Going to Go Far, Kid' just wanted you to know.

Enough rambling here is the 9th chapter of the Fox's Shadow!

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Last of the Namikaze

"N-Naruto?" stuttered Hinata as she stared at the dazed blonde.

"Damn Hinata! You really know how to knock out your boyfriend! What is this number three?" asked Kiba as he was laughing.

"I believe it is now number 4." Stated Shino with a smirk.

"Well good thing I wasn't asking you Shino!" responded Kiba as he took Shino's bait to yet another argument between the two.

Meanwhile, Hinata was holding Naruto's head in her lap as he ran her fingers through his blonde hair. A soft sigh escaped Naruto's lips as he slowly opened his eyes and looked at Hinata.

"You sure do know how to make my pains go away." Said Naruto with a big smile.

"If you would stop sneaking up on me I would stop attacking you." Stated Hinata with an annoyed tone.

"But then you wouldn't be here holding my head in your lap, running your fingers through my hair. I won't lie it is worth taking a blow like that just to be here." Said Naruto with a small smile as Hinata giggled.

"Yeah, but I feel so bad when I hit you like that." Said Hinata as she looked at Naruto.

"Fine…next time I may warn you that I will be coming. So how long have you guys been training? I just back from my mission to bring the new Hokage so I haven't done any real sparring." Asked Naruto as he left out his fight with Kabuto.

"We have only been here for a few minutes Uzumaki. If you would like I can spar with you." Stated Shino as he walked up with a red faced Kiba following behind.

"That's great Shino!" said Naruto as he jumped up.

"You can't fight for too long. The Hokage was going to announce your heritage as soon as he got the new Hokage up to speed." Stated Hinata.

"Yeah, but Granny Tsunade is too lazy to get things done that quickly!" exclaimed Naruto as the three gennin looked at him.

"So our new Hokage is going to be perhaps one of the strongest kuinoichi of all time and you call her a Granny? Man! Even I don't have balls as big as yours!" laughed Kiba as Hinata went red at the word balls.

"Well let's get this underway! I hope you can keep up Shino!" said Naruto as he slid into his stance.

"If I don't provide enough of a challenge Kiba can come in and back me up. However, I do advise you not to underestimate me." Stated Shino.

"Wouldn't even think it Shino." Smirked Naruto as he charged at the Aburame.

Shino jumped back and threw five kunai at Naruto forcing him to roll to the side. Naruto continued on his path and reached Shino as the two engaged in a taijutsu battle.

It was here that Naruto had the advantage and was pushing back Shino. However after landing a punch to Shino's ribs Naruto heard buzzing come from behind and blinked away to avoid the mass of insects that had converged on his previous location.

"That is a very handy trick." Stated Shino as he sent his bugs at Naruto.

'These ones are quicker than I remember.' Thought Naruto as he quickly ran to the side to avoid the bugs. Naruto couldn't do much to the bugs, besides disperse them using wind jutsu. So he kept weaving through the attacks and closed in on Shino.

Just before they Naruto go into a perfect position he was nailed by a punch to his face courtesy of Kiba.

"We know that you're a chuunin now Naruto. It wouldn't be fair if you fought against any one of us in single combat." Yelled Kiba who was sporting a feral smile as his dog barked in agreement.

"I guess you're right, but I will have to take this up another level." Stated Naruto as three shadows formed in front of him.

"Let's do this Akamaru! Gatsuga!" yelled Kiba as both him and his dog started spinning like a drill and heading towards Naruto and his shadows.

Naruto immediately blinked away as his clones all rolled out the way and continued onto Shino trying to get rid of the support quickly. However, Kiba was just fast enough to get back and block an attack from a shadow.

Akamaru also came back and barreled into a shadow that was too distracted by Shino's bugs to dodge the attack. The last was engaging Shino in taijutsu once again with a smile on his face.

"Things aren't looking good Shino." Stated the Shadow as Shino ducked under a left hook from the blond.

"Indeed they aren't…for now." Stated Shino as he sent a kick at the shadow's ankle, but it just jumped over it and retaliated with a kick to Shino's ribs.

"It's over for you Shino." Said the Shadow as Shino suddenly paused when he felt a kunai poised at his spine.

"Checkmate." Stated the real Naruto who was half way out of a shadow.

"Not this time Naruto-kun." Said Hinata as she appeared behind Naruto with a kunai at his neck.

"NO! I was betrayed!" cried Naruto in shock as he blinked away before any damage could be done.

All of Naruto's shadows blinked away and appeared about 25 meters away from Team 8 with the original at the center.

"Hinata! I thought you wouldn't join this fight?" asked Naruto.

"I couldn't just let you beat my team now Naruto." Giggled Hinata as Kiba and Shino both crouched low and Akamaru turned into a clone of Kiba.

"Let's finish this then." Said Naruto with a smirk as he made 50 Shadow clones and had them charge at the 4 members of Team 8.

Hinata quickly activated her Byakugan and met the clones head on and started to tear them apart in the Taijutsu department. Using her flexibility she easily dodged each attack and countered before the clone could react.

One kick came particularly close to her face as she leaned back. She retaliated with a strike to its chest, but the attack didn't destroy the clone like she expected. Instead the area around the hit turned pitch black for a second before the clone attacked again.

'This is one of Naruto's Shadows!" she thought as she was nicked by knuckle from the blonde.

"Sorry Hinata, but if I want to win I can't just go easy on you." Said the shadow with an apologetic smile.

"I understand Naruto…although the same does apply for me too." Replied Hinata with a smile.

'I don't like that smile.' Thought Naruto as he controlled the Shadow fighting Hinata.

"Guess I should join this melee now!" yelled Naruto as he blinked away and reappeared about 25 meters above the battlefield and started to run through seals.

"He's above us!" yelled Hinata as she saw him appear with the Byakugan.

Kiba and Shino tried to spread out, but the clones they were fighting were doing all that they could to keep the two close together. Akamaru was just able to get out of the area, but the poor dog was quickly subdued by two of Naruto's shadows.

"Futon: Great Breakthrough!" yelled Naruto as he pumped a whole lot of chakra into his lungs and shot a gigantic gust of wind down at Team 8.

The effect was immediate as nearly every clone of Naruto's was dispelled. However the powerful gust of wind knocked each member of Team 8 away from each other and off their feet.

The few remaining clones all took advantage of the stunned gennin subdued them quickly with ninja wire. "Well it seems that I won!" laughed Naruto as he sat in front of the three gennin.

Kiba looked pissed that he had lost to Naruto, Shino looked indifferent to the whole thing, and Hinata looked frustrated for a second before smirking at Naruto.

"What are you smirking at Hinata?" asked a completely confused Naruto.

"So are you going to let us out of this Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata in a sweet voice that made Naruto shiver a bit and both of her teammates to look at her in confusion.

"Well I was going to just…uh keep you tied up for awhile." Stated Naruto as he stared at Hinata who had adopted a very sweet, yet pleading look on her face.

"Please don't leave me like this Naruto-kun! How else am I going to get to go to lunch and dinner with you later tonight." She said with a small innocent smile that made Naruto shiver again.

"Well uh…I guess that works…yeah at least I think it does?" 'Damn this women! She is using some type of hypnosis on me!' Naruto raged in his mind.

"_It is a curse that all men share alike Naruto. No man can resist the voice of the one he loves when they talk seductively._" Said Zeratul in his mind.

'How the hell would you know? Aren't you another race?' asked Naruto.

"_All species experience love Naruto…not just humanity."_ Explained Zeratul in a saddened voice.

(Look up the Matriarch Raszagal on the StarCraft wiki if you want to know what I'm talking about. Don't worry it won't be a major plot device in the story.)

'I will remember that Zeratul.' Answered Naruto in small voice.

"Please let me go Naruto." Asked Hinata once more a bit more pleadingly.

"Fine!" exclaimed Naruto as he went over and cut her free.

"Thanks Naruto! Now lets go eat!" laughed Hinata as she dragged Naruto away from her still bound team.

"Are they just going to leave us here trapped like this?" asked Kiba.

"Not really." Stated Shino as his binds snapped and a few insects returned to his jacket.

"Aren't you going to help man?" asked Kiba as Shino looked at him for a brief second.

"No." stated Shino as he walked away.

"What the hell man! What are we going to do Akamaru?" asked Kiba as he looked at his dog, who was still cloned to look like him.

Akamaru looked at Kiba before he poofed into smoke and returned to his normal size. Akamaru looked at Kiba for a second before running off to join Shino.

"Akamaru!" yelled Kiba in shock.

"So what are we going to do Hinata?" asked Naruto as he was being pulled by Hinata.

"I have no idea! I just want some time with you." Stated Hinata with a bright smile.

"I can live with that." Replied Naruto with a smile of his own. But it fell as he saw many of the villagers glaring at him and Hinata, while muttering insults under their breath.

"Don't worry about them Naruto! They don't know you like I do." Said Hinata as they made it to a park in the village.

"I know I shouldn't worry, but I want them to accept me. I hate that they can't see me for anything else, but the fox. I'm actually kind of scared of the outcome of learning my heritage. Will they deny it and hate me more or will they start loving me just because of my father?" asked Naruto as he sat at a swing with Hinata sitting at the one close to him.

"Does it matter if they accept you Naruto? You have friends who love you. Shouldn't they be the only ones that have an opinion that matters to you?" asked Hinata as Naruto smiled at her.

"You are right Hinata, but my father gave his life for the village. I want to know why? I want to know what made him put so much trust into the villagers." Explained Naruto as he smiled at her.

"That does make sense Naruto, but remember your friends will always be there for you." Said Hinata with a smile.

"I know." Said Naruto as he looked at the many kids playing games in the park.

"Hey Naruto…push me!" demanded Hinata with a smile.

"Push you?" asked Naruto.

"Yep!" said Hinata as Naruto smiled and got up.

"Say please." He whispered into her ear causing her to shake.

"Please Naruto-kun." She said with a hopeful look.

"How can I say no to that." Said Naruto as he started pushing her on the swing.

The two stayed in the park for a few hours just spending time with each other. Naruto enjoyed the day greatly and was saddened that it had to end so he took Hinata home reluctantly and gave her a kiss before leaving for his home.

As he made his way home he suddenly stopped when he sensed a familiar chakra signature. 'I wonder what he wants?' thought Naruto.

"So the rumors are true. They did make you into a chuunin after the exams." Came the voice of Sasuke Uchiha as Naruto turned around and faced his old teammate.

"It wasn't for the chuunin exams. They gave me the rank after my clones helped save hundreds of lives during the invasion." Replied Naruto as Sasuke walked up to him.

"I guess you have gotten stronger…faster than perhaps anyone in the village. Kakashi-sensei said that you were perhaps one of the quickest learners that he had ever met. Why were you not like this in the academy." Asked Sasuke.

"You see it is kind of hard to learn anything when the teachers try and sabotage every attempt that I make at learning. Then you take into the fact that 80 percent of the civilians and about 20 percent of the ninja wanted me dead since the day I was born. It isn't too smart to actually act smart." Said Naruto as Sasuke looked at him weirdly.

"Why did they want you dead?" asked Sasuke as he was a bit confused on the matter. Sure Naruto pranked a lot of people, but if that was the reason why did they want him dead on the day he was born. Did he have a family member that went psycho too?

"I don't trust you Sasuke…not yet at least. I'm don't have the same past as you, I don't have a family member who killed his entire clan. Someone that goes and sends his own brother into a world that see's one's greatest fears." Said Naruto as Sasuke looked at him sharply.

"How did you know that? Only the Hokage and Inoichi know about that! Answer me!" demanded Sasuke as he answered Naruto sharply.

"I know about it because I experienced it during the invasion." Answered Naruto with a sad look on his face as his eyes glazed over in memory of the even.

"What! He was here during the invasion and he attacked you?" asked Sasuke in shock.

"Yes, he did. His partner and him said that he they needed me for something. I don't know what it is, but I do know that this won't be the last time I ever see of Itachi." Said Naruto.

"Well I guess I'm just going to have to hand around you for sometime so that when he comes after you I can kill him." Replied Sasuke with a smirk.

"Is the great all powerful Sasuke Uchiha offering to be my body guard? Hell must have frozen over if something like this is happening! I know I'm just dreaming!" exclaimed Naruto as Sasuke growled and threw a kunai at Naruto.

"You may have gotten stronger, but your still a Dobe." Stated Sasuke with a smirk.

"And you're still a Teme, but at least you're not going to try and kill me. So is this all you wanted to talk to me about?" asked Naruto.

"No, I was going to ask you to spar with me, but I'm not sure if I want to now." Said Sasuke.

"Eh you're just a coward! Let's go to Training Ground 7 and I'll show you how weak you are." Laughed Naruto as they both disappeared and traveled to the training ground.

"I should warn you though. While you were away Kakashi stepped up our training. He focused mostly on speed and strength training for us and Sakura is learning Genjutsu and medical jutsu." Said Sasuke as he got into his intercepter style.

"Interesting…maybe Sakura will begin to become a fine kuinoichi. She always had potential for those two fields and now she is actually training harder." Said Naruto.

"Enough talking, I want to know where I stand." Said Sasuke as he charged at Naruto.

Naruto ducked under a left hook from Sasuke and blocked a right knee with his forearm. He then countered with an elbow to Sasuke's ribs, but the boy just pushed it away with his left.

Naruto ducked low to the ground and swept out at Sasuke's legs, but the boy jumped over it and lashed out with his left fist, but Naruto tilted his head and let the fist go past him. He grabbed it, turned and flipped Sasuke onto his back before smashing his foot on Sasuke's face.

At least that would've been what had happened if Sasuke hadn't rolled to the side and thrown a kunai at Naruto. Naruto brought out his own and blocked the kunai with his before lunging at Sasuke.

The two clashed with kunai for about thirty seconds with neither really having a disadvantage, before Sasuke jumped back with a smirk on his face.

"You really have gotten better Naruto, less than two months ago I wouldn't have needed to use the Sharingan to defeat you. Now is the time when things get interesting." He said with a smirk as his Sharingan activated.

"Don't count me out yet. You aren't the only one with a bloodline." Said Naruto as three shadows formed up around him.

The four Naruto's charged at Sasuke with about three meters between them as they attacked. Sasuke easily ducked under the attack of the first before blocking the 2nd and 3rd attack and kicked the 4th away with ease.

However, by this time the first was already on him again as he blocked a jab at his face only to duck underneath a hook from another clone. Sasuke kicked at the third, but it did little damage as the Naruto just took the hit and latched onto his arm.

Sasuke was unable to move in time to dodge or block the punch that was delievered into his right cheek. The one shadow didn't let him go though and brought him back into the knee of another Naruto driving the air out of his lungs before the last Naruto landed a roundhouse kick to Sasuke which sent him flying across the clearing.

Sasuke got back to his feet and wiped the blood from his mouth before going through hand seals before he shot out a massive ball of fire at the Blonde.

Naruto waited until the last second before he blinked away and appeared behind Sasuke. The Uchiha could do nothing as he was grabbed by two pairs of arms and thrown to the ground before a third jumped on his back and put a kunai to his neck.

"You seem to keep forgetting that my speciality comes from using my clones. You don't just fight me Sasuke, you fight up to 100 of me at a time." Said Naruto with a smirk as Sasuke glared at him a bit.

"With out those clones you wouldn't be doing so good." Said Sasuke.

"We are ninja, anything that gives us an advantage should be used." Responded Naruto as he let Sasuke up.

"True. That's the only reason I am going to allow you to help me face my brother when the time comes." Said Sasuke.

"Until then Sasuke, you are a ninja of Konoha. Don't you forget that I will help you, but not for petty revenge. Itachi has crimes to answer for and I intend to bring him to justice." Said Naruto as Sasuke looked at him for a second before walking away.

"I don't care for that. He killed my entire family and I will have my revenge. He will never again do something like that if I have to die to do so." Growled out Sasuke.

"You do know there are more important things in life than revenge Sasuke." Answered Naruto.

"I have no other reason to exist until he is dead…Naruto." Answered Sasuke before he jumped away leaving Naruto in the field.

"Come on out Kakashi-Sensei! I know you have been watching." Yelled Naruto as Kakashi landed by him.

"He has gotten better with his attitude." Stated Kakashi.

"Yeah, but he needs to realize that revenge isn't everything." Answered Naruto.

"Do you take that to heart when you deal with Kyubi?" asked Kakashi.

"I try to, but the fox is being stubborn. I can see why though, he said that I'm not the first human to ever try and befriend it. I also wouldn't be the last to betray it after I got what I need from it." Said Naruto with a sigh.

"The history between the villages and the Bijuu hasn't always been pretty. I can understand why it is reluctant to trust a human. I came to tell you that the 3rd is announcing your heritage tomorrow before the new Hokage takes the mantle." Said Kakashi.

"Already? Jeeze I was expecting it to be pushed back again. Well let's hope we don't have a civil war soon." Laughed Naruto.

"I doubt it will come to that." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

"Well I better get going. I need to get some sleep for tomorrow morning, Zeratul is going to step up my training." Yelled Naruto as he blinked away.

"That is an awesome way to travel." Said Kakashi as he sighed and Shunshined away.

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"So you're just going to go out on the Balcony and announce me to the whole village?" asked Naruto.

"That's the plan." Smiled the 3rd Hokage.

"This is going to be nuts!" exclaimed Naruto.

"You are the one who wanted your heritage to be known!" responded the 3rd.

"Yeah, but that's only so they stop glaring at me. So I don't have to worry about my precious people being attacked just for associating with me." Responded Naruto.

"Nothing bad will happen with this, you will have about four clans at least willing to fight for you." Said Shikaku Nara as he walked up with his two best friends.

"Four? I thought you three were the only one's I could count on?" asked Naruto as the noise from the gathered crowd got louder.

"I would bet that Hiashi is ready to protect you right now. He may not like you personally, but since you are dating his daughter it will be huge for the Hyuga." Said Chouza as he walked up.

"I wish it would just be Hinata and I with no clans in the mix!" yelled Naruto as the clan heads smiled a bit.

"Well I've kept them waiting long enough! Let's get this over with so I can get home and take a long vacation!" laughed out the Hokage before taking a serious look and stepping out to the crowds.

"Ready for chaos?" asked Naruto as the Hokage began.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Konohagakure! I stand before you with momentous news! I would like to say something to all of you that I have kept hidden from the world for the past 13 years. Only four people knew of it and today the whole village shall know!" yelled the Hokage as the villagers and ninja all quieted down and waited.

"Our beloved 4th Hokage, Minato Namikaze, did not die with out an heir to his clan!" proclaimed the Hokage as 95% of the gathered people all let out an audible gasp at that news.

Pretty soon many in the village started yelling at the Hokage demanding him to tell them who the son of their hero was, but the Hokage just stared down at them.

"Personally I wish I didn't stand before you to tell you who his Son is. You have all spat on the grave of the 4th by not honoring his last wishes! You attacked an innocent boy for most of his life in hopes of getting petty revenge against a demon." Yelled the Hokage as many people didn't really care about this and were demanding answers.

One particular voice carried above the others to the Hokage and it made his blood run cold. "The demon brat should've been executed years ago! The 4th's last real wish was for that demon to die!"

"Is that what you all believe? That the 4th wanted an innocent child to be murdered by the village that that child was protecting just by being alive. Well let me ask you this…if the 4th had come to your home, demanding your child for that ritual, you would've let him take him?" asked the Hokage as some of the civilians quieted down. Many mothers grabbed their children and pulled them close at that.

"Why does that matter? He grabbed some orphan to be used so we could all live!" yelled another man.

"You really believe that the 4th would take some child off the streets to be used for a such a task? No the 4th would've only trusted one person to contain such power…his son born on that very day. A son that you have all tried to kill in the past on MULTIPLE OCASIONS!" yelled the Hokage as he blasted his killer intent.

"Impossible!" yelled one brave civilian as others started to shout in protest.

"You are all fools! Minato Namikaze choose his son, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, to seal the Kyubi into and now you all spit on his grave by saying that Naruto isn't his son? It is the truth…if you want to believe it …that is your problem. I witnessed the marriage of the 4th and saw his wife go into labor." Yelled the Hokage as half the crowd looked ashamed, but the other half looked mutinous.

"Silence all of you! I have sat by and watched this village slander a savior who has been helping the village from the day he was born! You have scorned both him and his father for over 13 years. Naruto has accepted his role as the Heir of his Clan and I expect all of you to accept it too! I hope for your sakes that the next Hokage is as forgiving as Naruto, for he has not asked for anything in return for what has been done to him!" yelled the Hokage.

"What could that demon do to us?" yelled another civilian.

"What could he do to you? He could have every single person who ever hurt him in the past executed for your crimes. Naruto is the heir of the Uzumaki clan, who were a family of Daimyo's of Whirlpool Country." Yelled the Hokage as Naruto walked out with the Heads of the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans.

"Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze! Do you accept to remain a clan of Konoha? To fight for this village with everything that you have? To give your life if need be?" asked the Hokage as Naruto bowed to him.

"I do accept Hokage-Sama." Stated Naruto as he rose to his feet.

"We as the Nara Clan support the new Namikaze Clan." Announced Shikaku.

"We as the Akimichi Clan support the new Namikaze Clan." Announced Chouza next.

"We as the Yamanaka Clan support the new Namikaze Clan." Announced Inoichi last as Naruto bowed to the three clan heads before facing the crowd.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. The heir to both the Namikaze and Uzumaki, I know that many of you do not trust me. I understand…you all see me as the Kyubi, a demon sealed into me on my birthday. The laws that protected me are now void; I now embrace my life as Jinchuriki." Said Naruto as he spotted faces in the crowd.

Hinata was there smiling at him with pride and admiration. Shikamaru looked bored, but proud at the same time. Chouji stood by him looking gob smacked, but not angry or disgusted. Shino looked like…well Shino. Kiba was quiet for once, and looked to be thinking. Ino looked ready to cry along with Sakura as their expressions were saddened. Lee was smiling brightly, while crying as he and Guy hugged. Neji looked shocked with realization as he learned about Naruto's past.

Sasuke was the last that he found and his expression was the most surprising. Sasuke had a neutral face and was looking at Naruto questioningly. Naruto had half expected him to go all emo and start yelling about power, but he wasn't.

'Well there's a surprise.' Thought Naruto as he watched the crowd have mixed reactions.

About 1/8 of the civilians were denying it calling Naruto a demon who had tricked their Hokage into believing such lies. 3/8's of the population looked confused and worried at the same time as they tried to process information. Half of the population were now cheering for the return of the Namikaze clan, trying to act like they always honored Naruto.

'Damn civilians! Once they realize I'm basically royalty most of them start to support me! I'm sure I'm going to have my own fan club now too! Too bad for them I'm Hinata's now!' smiled Naruto as he looked at his girlfriend, who was now glaring at a couple of girls who had hearts in their eyes.

"I'm going to start moving things into my compound. Seeya and thanks for the support." Said Naruto as he bowed to the other clan heads and left.

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Naruto was seriously getting pissed off at the whole village right now. It had only been a week since his heritage had been announced and he already wanted to kill himself.

First he had to deal with hundreds of civilians walking up to him and literally begging for forgiveness. He was half tempted to shove a kunai into their skulls for being suck ups, but refrained.

Second, he had to deal with ninja coming up to him basically pleading to be his sensei so they could get some fame. Seriously he already had three people who trained him on a regular basis!

Kakashi trained him in the mornings on Taijutsu and conditioning with the occasional jutsu thrown into the mix. Jiraiya worked on summoning and improving existing techniques like the Rasengan and his Void based Ninjutsu. Zeratul worked with him at night by training him to be more in sync with the Void than he was now.

Overall, there was really no reason for any new sensei's! He had made it to chuunin with the one's he had now and he was more than happy to have them helping him.

The last reason was by far the worst thing about announcing his heritage to the entire village. The only thing he had heard his own father was unable to defeat!

FAN GIRLS….

In the beginning there were only a few that followed him around giggling like crazy when he would do the most mundane tasks. Pretty soon though more and more were attracted to him like a moth to the flame.

They were completely useless and a waste of time in his opinion as he frequently had to avoid them if he wanted to train or spend time with his friends…especially Hinata.

With his new fame in the village many of the girls instantly started to loathe and reject Hinata everywhere. She didn't mind at first, and was happy that Naruto was starting to get the recognition he deserved.

That was until they had both discovered that he was only accepted because of his father, not for what he has done. In essence this lead to Hinata completely being hostile to any girl that came within 15 yards of Naruto…if they were a fan girl.

Of course Naruto didn't see any harm in it as he knew that only one girl liked him for who he was. No matter what happened he couldn't be happier with anyone besides Hinata. A matter of fact he just so happened to be on his way to meet with her.

However first he needed to escape the twenty girls that had been following him for the past hour as he walked through the village. "Well good thing most of them aren't shinobi." Sighed Naruto as he fell into his shadow confusing the girls.

Naruto appeared on the other side of the village with a smile on his face as he walked to the place where he said he would meet Hinata. It didn't take him long to make it their meeting spot where he was to meet her.

"Hey Hinata!" yelled Naruto as he walked up to his girlfriend and gave her kiss before hugging her.

"Hello Naruto." Giggled Hinata.

"Well are you ready to train Hinata?" asked Naruto.

"As ready as I can be Naruto." Answered Naruto as she jumped away from him and got into a stance.

"I won't be going easy Hinata." Said Naruto, but Hinata just smiled and shrugged off her jacket causing Naruto to blush a bit as he never really saw her with out the jacket.

"Are you okay Naruto? I hope me removing my jacket for this spar is alright with you?" asked Hinata sweetly causing Naruto to blush and nod his head a bit.

"No…why would it?" stuttered Naruto as Hinata smiled a bit more before she charged at Naruto.

Right before they reached each other to start their spar an ANBU dropped down in front of the two preventing them from starting.

"Naruto Namikaze and Hinata Hyuga, you two are to report to the Hokage's office immediately for a mission." Said the ANBU before he disappeared.

"Damn!" said Naruto as Hinata smiled at him and walked over to him and kissed him.

"Don't worry Naruto, at least it looks like we will be on the same mission together." Said Hinata as Naruto smiled back.

"True! Race ya!" yelled Naruto as he disappeared.

"Cheater!" yelled Hinata as she struggled to keep up with the faster blonde.

"No I'm not!" yelled Naruto from up ahead.

"It didn't take the two gennin long to reach the Hokage's tower and they soon were inside the Hokage's officer, where Tsunade, was waiting with Sasuke and Rock Lee.

"So what type of mission do you have for us Granny?" asked Naruto as ducked to avoid a stapler thrown at him.

"Brat! You call me Granny again I will castrate you!" yelled Tsunade in anger.

"Excuse me Lady Hokage, what is the mission that we are here to take?" asked Hinata as the Hokage smiled at her.

"I will be explaining the mission when the last team member gets here." Said Tsunade as the doors opened and Sakura walked in.

"Yosh! It seems our last team member has joined us and it is the lovely Sakura!" yelled Lee. (Tsunade already healed him. Also I know that the following arc happens after the Retrieval arc, but I don't care.)

"Well now that everybody is here we can get started. The King of the Crescent Moon Kingdom has paid us to escort his family from our Western Border to an Eastern port, where you will secure transport to the Crescent Moon Island. There you will drop off our client and make your way back to the village." Explained Tsunade.

"Where exactly are we to meet our client?" asked Naruto.

"At the border outpost closest to Suna. Naruto you will be leading the mission, but let me make this clear. If you don't do a satisfactory job on this mission Naruto, you will be demoted back to gennin." Said Tsunade.

"Yeah sure Granny I will do perfect on this mission!" said Naruto as he had to dodge another stapler.

"Well team are you ready?" asked Naruto with a smile as they all nodded.

"Good we will be exiting the village in one hour to meet our clients at the border! Pack for a month long trip at the most." Ordered Naruto as they all left.

"Don't worry Granny I will do this mission to the letter and make the leaf look like the greatest village in the world!" exclaimed Naruto.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<p>

It had taken just two days for the team to make it to the border outpost. The trip alone was enough to call it an adventure. They had sparred a little as they had enough time, talked, and trained a bit.

Due to the heat of the area they were travelling in, they had all decided to go for lighter clothing. Naruto was wearing black cargo shorts with his chuunin vest strapped on and a chain mesh shirt.

Sasuke had a dark blue shirt on with the Uchiha crest on the back and tan cargo pants. Hinata was wearing her normal clothing minus the bulky jacket. Naruto could barely keep his eyes off her as she rarely took the jacket off.

Lee and Sakura were wearing the same thing they wore during the actual movie. I'm sure you can all check it out.

Naruto learned the Sakura had improved greatly in the past month since the Chuunin exams as Kakashi trained both Sasuke and Sakura in their weak points. Sakura now had an arsenal of genjutsu to use along with new taijutsu that worked well for her.

Everything else was just an improvement as she was faster, stronger, and had larger reserves, but not nearly as strong as Naruto or Hinata. Sasuke was stronger too, but still not at Naruto's level, proven earlier in the week when the two had sparred.

Although for once Sasuke didn't seem to mad about it. He had started talking to Sakura normally for once and was actually enjoying himself…to everyone's surprise except Sakura who had gotten used to it as they trained every day.

"So whom are we supposed to protect again?" asked Lee as he stood on wall overlooking the Desert that surrounded them.

"We are to protect Prince Michiru as he and his son travel back home to the Crescent Moon Kingdom. The most we are to expect are bandits on this mission." Explained Naruto.

"So how rich is the Crescent Moon Kingdom?" asked Sasuke.

"Well I did some research and found that despite it's small size the Island is quite wealthy as it is a very popular tourist spot. Other than that I don't really know." Said Naruto.

"I would say that it is quite wealthy, if that is their caravan that we must protect." Stated Lee.

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto as they jumped up and looked at the huge caravan slowly making it's way to the outpost.

"Wow!" said Hinata and Sakura at the same time as they others nodded for it comprised of about 30 wagons.

"How are we supposed to defend the whole thing?" asked Sakura.

"My clones will just have to pull up the slack I guess. Remember though our main mission is to protect Prince Michiru and his son. I should warn you though there were other teams assigned to protect him, but they all quit due to being treated poorly." Stated Naruto as the others nodded.

It didn't take long for the massive convoy to reach them and finally the largest most extravagant carriage pulled up in front of the ninja. When the door was opened out stepped a very large man with a smile on his face.

"Well hello Ninjas! Oh are you the ninja that are supposed to protect me?" asked the man as he finally looked at the kids before him.

"Are you Prince Michiru?" asked Naruto as he stepped forward.

"Why yes I am! Was there a change of plans for my protection?" asked the Prince.

"No there was no change, we are the ones that were selected to protect you. I am Elite Chuunin Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze and these are my teammates. Hinata Hyuga, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Rock Lee." Stated Naruto in a professional voice.

"Well it seems the Leaf did send me some good protection! Two ninja from such well-known clans like the Uchiha and Hyuga! My aren't you two so pretty too!" said Michiru loudly as he eyed the two girls in their squad.

'Okay I can see why the other squads wanted to quit. If he lays one finger on Hinata I will feed him to my fox!' thought Naruto as his eyes narrowed at Michiru slightly.

Michiru was quite oblivious to the looks he was receiving and walked over to the two girls with a smile on his face. "I am Prince Michiru! It is a pleasure to meet you!" declared the prince as he stuck his hand out to shake Sakura's hand.

"Nice to meet you Prince!" smiled Sakura as she gripped his hand and squeezed. One didn't have to be a ninja to see that Michiru was in pain from that hand shake.

He looked over at Hinata to see her smiling sweetly at him in a way that just made him shiver. So he wisely backed off and went back to Naruto.

"I'm sure your team will do well." He stated as he nervously glanced at Sakura.

"Trust me. No harm will befall you as long as we are here." Stated Naruto just before he snatched something out of the air.

The thing he snatched out of the air happened to be a toy arrow with suction cup on the end. "Hikari that is no way to treat our Ninja!" scolded Michiru, but the young kid with glasses just humphed and turned away.

"That is okay Prince Michiru. This won't be my first mission dealing with a kid who doesn't like me." Responded Naruto as he turned to his team.

"Okay for the duration of the trip Hinata will stay at guard on top of the Prince's carriage. The rest of us will rotate positions until me make it to the port. Sasuke will take the first day at the front, and Lee will take the rear. Sakura and I will take the Prince's carriage for the first day." Announced Naruto as his team took their positions.

It didn't take long for the caravan to get on their way. The next week would be nothing more than a trip through canyons and desert terrain that marked the borders between Iwa and Konoha.

"Why did you choose this formation Naruto?" asked Sakura curiously.

"Well Sasuke with his Sharingan should be able to spot any traps up ahead and Hinata will be able to keep a 360 degree view of the entire caravan. Lee is at the back for now since he is the fastest and is the most flexible. I'm here for command and support. You're here as back up for now. Remember we will be switching posts." Explained Naruto.

"So any idea who will be taking over my position on Team 7 until you all become chuunin?" asked Naruto.

"Honestly I have no idea right now. I heard Team 8 might split up with them going to different teams, but I've heard the same thing about Sasuke and me." Said Sakura sadly.

"Just because I'm a chuunin now doesn't mean that I'm going to stop being a part of the team. It just means that I won't be able to do the chuunin exams next time." Said Naruto in an effort to cheer her up.

"It doesn't really matter, but enough about me! I want to know how you finally realized that Hinata has liked you for like years now!" asked Sakura causing Hinata to blush brightly and Naruto to look confused.

"Wait what?" asked Naruto.

"He didn't know Hinata?" asked Sakura ignoring Naruto's question.

"Didn't know what?" asked Naruto again, but Hinata just shook her head.

"Baka! You didn't realize that Hinata has liked you for like ever!" yelled Sakura causing Naruto to surprised.

"Wait! You mean I could've had Hinata as a girlfriend years ago? Ugh! Now I feel so stupid! I'm sorry Hinata!" exclaimed Naruto as grabbed the blushing girl and pulled her into a deep hug.

"You idiot…" muttered Sakura as she started to scan the road they were taking. Even though they were guarding the client Hinata and Naruto kept having a silent conversation between them before Naruto kissed her.

"I'll be back. I'm going to see how the rest of the team are doing." Said Naruto as he jumped away.

"Why didn't you ever tell him?" asked Sakura.

"I thought that he would think of me as being weird. I didn't expect him to start apologizing to me claiming that if he had known earlier he would've done something about it. Baka doesn't realize that he has done so much for so many people." Smiled Hinata.

"True…I feel so bad for the way I used to treat him in the academy. He holds the demon inside him and has been protecting us for years. When I first met him I thought he was nice, just a little loud, but when my mom saw him she started to tell me things." Explained Sakura, but was interrupted by Hinata.

"I can see that happening Sakura. Naruto has told me stories about your mother on the council and what she has done to him in the past. Did you know that she basically demanded that Naruto be put on the CRA?" asked Hinata as Sakura looked at her with wide eyes.

"She what? But she has always hated him? Why would she want him to have a large family now? Even if he is the son of the Yondaime it shouldn't really matter!" exclaimed Sakura.

"Come on Sakura! You really think that the village loves Naruto for who he is? Naruto and I know that they only accept him since he is the son of his father. It sickens me that their opinions changed so quickly." Stated Hinata with venom.

"You really love him don't you?" asked Sakura as Hinata blushed, but nodded at her words.

"I believe I have always liked him, but now after knowing true past and what he has done I can honestly say that I do love him. If it weren't for him the village would be destroyed and I would be weak clan heir. He is my light that guides me…I don't think that light will ever darken." Explained Hinata as Sakura smiled.

"I bet that is exactly how he feels about you. Especially now that he knows that you have always liked him." Said Sakura as Hinata looked a bit surprised.

"What makes you say that?" asked Hinata.

"Come on Hinata! Have you seen the way he looks at you? It is exactly the same way you look at him; with such affection it puts movies to shame. Now that you have always felt that way about him just shows that you accepted him before he started to improve…when he was the 'Dead Last'." Explained Sakura as Hinata blushed and smiled a bit.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<br>With Naruto and Lee

"Hey Lee how are things doing back here?" asked Naruto as he reached his friend.

"Greetings Naruto! Everything's going great now!" yelled Lee with a smile.

"Well that's great! So I know this guy is a prince and everything, but what's up with all this crap?" asked Naruto as he looked at one of the carriages.

"Well from what I have learned the Prince is a bit materialistic and is in the habit of buying whatever he wants for himself and his son." Explained Lee.

"Wow, I kind of hope that the Prince doesn't act like that when he takes the thrown. The people probably won't last long if they have to deal with a person like that as their king." Stated Naruto as Lee nodded.

"What about his son?" asked Lee.

"Probably just as spoiled as his dad. The kid even had the balls to shoot a toy arrow at my head and not even apologize." Grumbled Naruto.

"I'm sure he will apologize before the mission is over. Despite his attitude the boy has the 'Flames of Youth!'" shouted Lee as Naruto chuckled a bit.

"So how's your team been since the exams? Hinata said that Neji has even been acting nicer to her for once. Is this true or some type of joke?" asked Naruto.

"No joke! He has been much better as of late and even encourages the rest of us to work harder in order to become the best that we can be. I haven't heard him mutter one word about fate since the day you beat him!" exclaimed Lee as Naruto smiled a bit.

"How about your injuries? Are they hurting a bit?" asked Naruto.

"No they do not bother me at all anymore! I have even forgiven that Sand Gennin for the damage he has done to me!" said Lee with a smile.

"Really? I wouldn't expect anyone to forgive someone for delivering such an injury to said person. Although Lee I do admire you for that." Said Naruto as Lee smiled.

"Well I heard about what he contained and heard that his story from a friend of mine that heard it from his friend who happened to be a new chuunin. It seems the life of a jinchuriki is indeed hard no matter what village one grows up in." said Lee as he smiled at Naruto.

"Don't need to tell me. Well I'm going to go up and check on Sasuke. Stay vigilant…I doubt we will be attacked this close to the outpost, but you never know." Said Naruto as he traveled to the front of the caravan.

"So Sasuke have you seen anything fishy?" asked Naruto as Sasuke glanced at him.

"A minute ago I spotted a pair of horses in the distance, but they turned around. I believe we will have trouble sooner or later; although I doubt it will be today." Stated Sasuke.

"Well I guess they chose the wrong convoy to attack. So what's up with you and Sakura?" asked Naruto cheekily as Sasuke glared at him.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Sasuke as he managed to regain control of his composure.

"Oh come on! You two have been training like every day for the past month now. Surely something must have happened if you are no longer treating her like she is worthless." Said Naruto with a giant smile.

"It's none of your business Dobe." Stated Sasuke as he turned away.

"I bet she knocked you onto your butt. Ha that's it! The mighty Uchiha has been bested by his pink haired teammate!" exclaimed Naruto as Sasuke glared at him.

"Watch it Naruto…" Sasuke growled out.

"Take a joke Sasuke…besides now Sakura is stronger than before…maybe that's why you look at her when she isn't looking." Laughed Naruto as he blinked away to avoid a kunai thrown by the Uchiha.

Back with Hinata and Sakura the two gave a shriek when Naruto suddenly appeared in front of them in a mass of shadows.

"Yo!" was all he was able to get out before being punched by both girls at the same time!

'Why me?' thought Naruto as he went flying off the carriage.

"Oops…he really needs to stop doing that." Stated Hinata as Sakura smiled in satisfaction.

"That felt good." Stated Sakura with a smile.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<p>

"Well I would like to thank all of you for all the work you have done for us today!" thanked the prince as the convoy was stopped for the night. The ninja's all made a fire separate than all of the Prince's servants.

"You are welcome Prince Michiru." Said Naruto as he bowed at the prince.

"If there are any things that any of you need during the trip. Don't be afraid to ask!" declared the prince as he walked back to the main camp fire where his servants were making a large dinner.

"This mission is going to get on my nerves quickly." Said Naruto as he sat down by Hinata.

"Tell me about it…that Michiru has been leering at me almost all day." Stated Sakura.

"You aren't the only one." Added Hinata as Naruto hugged her.

"They treat their servants like dirt. All that matters to a man like that are material possessions and money." Said Lee.

"Remember we will all have to guard the convoy at night so we will all have to rotate guard for the night. So who wants to pull the first guard?" asked Naruto.

"I will take the first guard." Offered Sakura with a smile.

"I will go second!" offered Lee.

"I guess I can go last then." Said Sasuke at the end.

"Okay well I guess Hinata and I will take guard tomorrow night." Said Naruto with a smile.

"Ninja! I need to speak with you two of you ninja!" yelled the Prince.

"Geeze he can at least learn our names! Want to come with me Hinata?" asked Naruto as he stood up with Hinata following him.

As the two left Sakura's face broke out into a mischievous smile as she got up and travelled to the Hinata's pack.

"What are you doing Sakura?" asked Lee.

"Just playing a small joke on Hinata and Naruto. Aha!" yelled Sakura as she pulled out a scroll.

"What is that Sakura?" asked Lee as she sat down by Sasuke and Lee.

"This my friends Hinata's scroll that contains her tent. With this I will be forcing Hinata to have to stay with someone else tonight!" exclaimed Sakura as both Lee and Sasuke had sweat drops hanging from their face.

"Is that a smart idea?" asked Lee.

"Doesn't really matter." Said Sasuke as Naruto and Hinata returned to the group.

"So what did we miss?" asked Naruto as Sakura smirked.

"Nope, nothing at all Naruto." Said Sakura quickly, but Naruto missed it.

"Well we should all get some sleep now! You have security then Sakura?" asked Naruto as Sakura nodded and disappeared.

With that the four ninja remaining got up and started to search through their equipment to get their tents. Sasuke smirked as he grabbed his tent and walked away with Lee as Naruto helped Hinata look for her tent.

"I'm sure I brought it with me!" cried Hinata as she looked through her stuff.

"Its okay Hinata, it's not that big of a deal." Said Naruto.

"But where am I going to stay tonight?" asked Hinata.

"Well you can stay with me tonight? That's um…if you want to that is." Stuttered Naruto as he blushed furiously.

'Naruto is asking me to sleep with him!' thought Hinata as she blushed too.

"Okay…Naruto, are you sure I won't be a problem?" asked Hinata shyly.

"Not at all." Said Naruto as he unsealed his tent.

"If you are going to change you should do it now." Said Naruto as Hinata smiled and entered the tent, while Naruto waited outside.

"Don't do anything that I wouldn't do Naruto." Said Sasuke as he appeared behind Naruto.

"So who is the one who took her tent? I know for a fact that she always packs everything she needs." Said Naruto as he faced Sasuke.

"Sakura…she thought it would be cute." Said Sasuke as he smirked and disappeared.

"Naruto I'm dressed. You can come in now." Came Hinata's voice as Naruto smiled and walked in to find Hinata dressed in a tight pair of shorts and a lavender t-shirt.

"You sure you don't mind?" asked Hinata.

"Nope! As long as you don't mind that I sleep without a shirt on." Said Naruto as Hinata blushed, but said nothing.

"You know your beautiful…right?" asked Naruto as he hugged Hinata.

"Only in your mind Naruto." Mumbled Hinata.

"We should really get some sleep now." Said Naruto as he pulled out his sleeping bag.

"Yeah, I don't have my sleeping bag either." Said Hinata with a blush.

"No problem." Said Naruto as he took off his shirt causing Hinata to blush brightly.

"Well I'm tired." Said Naruto as he climbed into his sleeping well as Hinata looked unsure of herself.

"Come on Hinata! I don't bite." Said Naruto as Hinata slowly made her way over and climbed in with him.

Naruto wrapped his arms around her thin frame and pulled her close to him. Hinata for her part snuggled up as close as she could to him.

"You're warm Naruto." She said as Naruto kissed her on the forehead.

"Good night Hinata." Replied Naruto with a smile before closing his eyes.

"Good night Naruto." Said Hinata as she drifted off to sleep.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<p>

Three days later in the middle of the journey to the port city. "You guys my clones have reported the bandits moving into position just two miles up the road." Said Naruto as he appeared by Lee, Sasuke, and Hinata.

"Which direction will they most likely attack from and what are the numbers?" asked Sasuke.

"The clone says that there are about 60 bandits in all. Focus on protecting the prince and my clones will handle the majority of the bandits. I'm going to tell Sakura now to get prepared." Said Naruto as the others nodded.

"I will warn the prince." Said Hinata as she jumped down next to the prince's door.

"Prince Michiru we are about to experience trouble from a large group of bandits. We ask that you refrain from leaving this carriage during the battle." Said Hinata as the Prince got a scared look on his face and nodded.

"Are you sure that you will be able to handle the bandits?" asked Hikaru as he looked up from his Gameboy.

"Of course we will be able to handle any bandits that come our way." Said Hinata as the boy still didn't look convinced.

"I don't know…that blonde haired kid looks like he is too cocky for his own good." Retorted the boy rudely.

"Naruto is the strongest ninja our generation and has never failed any of us before. I suggest you get your facts straight before speaking." Said Hinata sharply as she left the carriage.

She appeared on top of the carriage where both Lee and Sasuke looked relaxed, but she could tell that both were ready for a fight at any moment. She then activated her Byakugan to see a large number of bandits on the cliffs above them.

"Get ready they are about to attack." Said Hinata as they all nodded.

"ATTACK!" came the battle cry as 60 bandits all ran down the cliff wall.

"This is going to be easy." Said Sasuke with a smirk as he leaped into the action with Lee close behind. Suddenly the convoy was covered with clones of Naruto all wielding kunai.

"CHARGE!" yelled Naruto from the front of the convoy as his clone army met the bandits head on.

"I thought I might get some practice." Sighed Hinata as she went to provide back up to Sakura.

With Naruto he was cutting his way through the bandits with ease. He would dodge every attack and retaliate with precision ending the bandit's lives before they knew what hit them.

"Damn I can't even use most of my Void techniques due to the damn sun." muttered Naruto as he cut down yet another bandit.

"Katon: Great Fireball!" yelled Sasuke from about 30 meters away. Naruto watched as the ball of fire overtook a group of 6 bandits and 4 clones.

"That's six Sasuke…22 me now." Smiled Naruto as he shot a ball of air at three bandits knocking them down the cliff, breaking their necks in the process.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<br>Lee was decimating bandits left and right as he swiftly made his way through their numbers. All the bandits saw before being hit was a green blur shouting things about youth.

"Yosh! It is most unyouthful to attack a convoy!" yelled Lee as he punched through a bandits shield knocking the bandit out.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<p>

"Shannaro!" yelled Sakura as she slammed her fist into a bandit sending him flying back into a group of 6 others. While doing so she missed the three arrows flying in her direction courtesy of an archer.

By the time she noticed them it was too late to do much. She watched in slow motion as they approached before being shot out of the air by a narrow beam of chakra.

"Good thing I came in time." Smiled Hinata as she blocked a punch by a bandit and retaliated with a juken to the guy's torso.

"What was that Hinata?" asked Sakura as she blocked a sword with a kunai.

"Just a new jutsu I have been experimenting on. Good thing I just finished it too, or you would probably be dead." Said Hinata as she bent back avoiding another arrow from the same archer.

"We should take out that arch…" started Hinata only to stop when she saw one of Naruto's clones appear from behind the man and break his neck.

"This battle is all but over." Said Sakura as she watched the remaining bandits run away only to be cut down by Naruto's clones.

"Are you two alright?" asked a clone as it dropped down beside them.

"Yes we are Naruto." Said Hinata with a smile before giving the clone a kiss before dispelling it with a slap.

"Were you sure that was a clone?" asked Sakura.

"Not really." Replied Hinata nonchalantly.

Sakura gave Hinata a confused look before shrugging and checking on the prince. 'I hope that this is all that we have to deal with. I would hate to have another C-Rank mission turn into an A-Rank again.' Thought Sakura.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<p>

"What do you mean you are buying the whole circus!" yelled Naruto as he glared at Prince Michiru, who was sporting a merry look.

"Well they were really impressive and they weren't willing to part with the tiger so I just bought everyone!" responded the Prince.

Naruto's eyebrows twitched as his hand slowly made it's way to his kunai holder on his thigh. "You do know that this just makes defending your convoy even harder now?"

The Prince had the decency to blush a bit at that information, but smiled after a few seconds of thought. "Well then I can just pay you even more for the mission!" exclaimed the prince as he walked away to oversee the circus being packed up.

"This man doesn't understand the way we ninja work." Stated Sasuke as he walked up next to Naruto.

Naruto gave Sasuke a No-Shit-Shirlock stare before turning away and heading towards where Hinata, Lee, and Sakura were. "It doesn't matter, we only have a days travel to the port. Then a nights travel to the island before we are done." Stated Naruto.

"True…you know the Prince's son has been looking at you with interest ever since the bandits. I wonder why?" asked Sasuke as Naruto glanced over at the boy trying to sneak in and see the tiger.

"That boy needs to be awakened. He is even worse than his father and treats everything as if it can be bought. I doubt he will have any respect for the living." Grumbled Naruto as they walked away.

"Kind of reminds me of someone I used to know." Responded Sasuke with a smirk.

"Did this person have a 10 foot pole rammed up his rear end and have a duck butt head?" asked Naruto curiously before laughing.

"Keep laughing Namikaze." Stated Sasuke with a smirk as they walked away from the circus, they were unaware of the boy who had been listening to them the whole time.

'Am I really like that?' asked the boy as he ran away.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<p>

"Well I actually like her! She seems to actually know what is important in life." Said Hinata as they walked away from a small cottage down to the docks of the city they were staying in.

"Yeah, and that man is completely oblivious to what she means!" exclaimed Naruto as the others nodded in agreement.

"Well I'm going to go to my room and make sure everything is alright." Said Hinata as Sasuke and Lee smiled before following. Sakura went and started to talk to the crew of the ship

Naruto watched them leave before going down to the docks and sitting at the ledge as he watched the sun set in the horizon. "Your name is Naruto right?"

"What was that?" asked Naruto as turned to look at Prince Hikaru as he walked up to him.

"I asked if your name was Naruto?" asked the prince again, slightly agitated that he wasn't heard the first time.

"Yeah, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze what do you want kid?" asked Naruto.

"I want you to be my own personal ninja to do whatever I command. I am more than willing to pay whatever amount you demand." Stated boy with a smirk on his face while Naruto just stared at him before laughing.

"That's a good one kid! Haha to think I would actually leave my village to work for you the rest of my life! We may be ninja, but my friends and I are loyal to the leaf. All the money in the world wouldn't ever convince me to leave." Said Naruto as he left the boy.

'I thought money was the only thing people cared about?' thought Hikaru as he watched Naruto walk away.

"Before I leave I want you to ask yourself something. Is money really what is important or is it the people that will one day be looking up to you to lead them?" asked Naruto as blinked away letting the prince think.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<p>

"The storms that rough?" asked Naruto as he was talking to the ship's first mate.

"Yes! We need help from you ninja to help cut the lines lose on some the cargo and bring the animals down below deck!" yelled the man desperately as Naruto sighed.

"Okay I will tell my ninja to make there way above deck to help." Said Naruto as the man nodded and ran to the surface.

Naruto turned around to see Prince Hikaru there staring at him. " You should just let those animals die. It isn't worth risking your lives over. Besides they don't even like me that much." Stated boy.

Naruto looked for shocked for a second before his face contorted to that of rage. "What! You are the one who demanded those animals and now you are just going to let them die!" yelled Naruto as he grabbed Hikaru by his shirt and lifted him up to his face.

"Why does it even matter?" yelled the boy in reply as Naruto promptly threw him to the ground.

"It matters, because they are living beings and never should've even been here in the first place! My team and I are going to rescue those animals no matter what! You are nothing more than trash." Said Naruto as he rushed to get his team.

The five ninja finally made it to the deck to discover a scene of complete chaos. Waves were spilling onto the deck knocking men down and debris was falling everywhere.

"Okay, the mission is to get the animals to safety first. After that we are to help dump some of the stuff into the sea so we don't capsize! Let's go!" commanded Naruto as his team proceded to round up the animals.

They were completely unaware of Prince Hikaru who had managed to get to the deck and was making his way to the animals. However, on his way he got hit by a large wave and crashed into a cage.

Turning to look inside he saw the monkey from the fair trying it's best to release the lock and let out the saber tooth tiger inside. Looking at the tiger he saw that it was looking back at him, but not in the same way as before.

Before it had looked at him with hatred and loathing, but now it's eyes were pleading for Hikaru to help. The prince looked unsure before his eyes hardened and he grabbed the gate and pulled as hard as he could to open the cage.

Finally after giving one last heave the gate broke open and the lion jumped out with the monkey on its back. The lion turned around for Hikaru, but it was too late as a wave crashed into him sending him over the rails.

"Ahhhhhh!" screamed out Hikaru before he was suddenly grabbed by a pair of hands. Suddenly a strange feeling washed over him as if he was being squeezed all around.

As quick as the feeling came it was gone and Hikaru found himself back on the deck of the ship. "Damn kid! Just because I told you to care more about the animals, doesn't mean I wanted you to come out here!" shouted Naruto as Hikaru nodded a bit.

"I just wanted to help…you are right. It isn't my place to just leave the things that depend on me out to rot. I'm sorry." Stated Hikaru as he looked at the ground only for the sabertooth lion to come up and nudge him.

"It seems your friend understands. One who has the responsibility of the people on their shoulders should always care for their well being. It is the kings duty protect and serve them to his best ability." Said Naruto with a smile as Hikaru smiled in response.

"Now get on inside before you fall off again." Said Naruto as he pushed the young prince inside with the Lion gladly following behind him.

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That next day they had finally made it to port and were making their way to the palace while the ship was being unloaded. On the way though the city seemed to be nothing more than a ghost town, but Prince Michiru didn't pay it any mind.

"Something isn't right here." Stated Naruto as Sasuke nodded besides him.

"True, this city is supposed to be packed this time of the year. Where are all the locals, tourists, and shops? It's the middle of June and yet there's no one here." Said Sasuke.

"Hinata use your Byakugan and try to find out where all the people are." Said Naruto as Hinata activated her Byakugan.

"All the people are inside cowering by the looks of things. Some have even barricaded the doors. Also there seems to be a very large bird with a man on it flying overtop of us." Said Hinata as they all looked up and indeed saw the outline of a bird against the sky.

"Driver you are to proceed to the palace no matter what. We will take the princes with us for now. A clones will meet with you to give you our whereabouts." Stated Naruto as he nodded at his team and blinked to the inside of the carriage.

"It seems you two are the targets of an assassination. If I were to guess there was Coup in the this city not long ago and the leader is now targeting you. Before you respond I need to know if there are any safe places that only you and the royal guard know about?" asked Naruto as he watched the panicked faces of both Michiru and Hikaru.

"The-re is one in the mountains by the shore!" exclaimed Prince Michiru in a panicked tone.

"Okay…I will be taking you so that our guest doesn't see you leaving. The ninja won't attack right away, but they will be observing the fight so let's go." Said Naruto as he grabbed both Prince's and blinked away.

They reappeared in the woods surrounding the city. "Where is this hide out at?" asked Naruto.

"Just a few miles down the road in the mountain." Said Prince Michiru as Naruto nodded and grabbed them once more and blinked away onto the mountainside.

"Where is this place at?" asked Naruto.

"Just over here!" said Prince Hikaru as he ran over to the ledge of the mountain and started running down a path. He stopped suddenly as he found himself at the at the edge of a sword being pointed at his chest.

"Prince Hikaru?" asked a man in a uniform as he retracted his blade and stood at attention.

"It seems that I was correct in stating that your father was a victim of a coup." Stated Naruto as he appeared behind Hikaru with a panting Michiru on his back.

"Ninja? Are you here to help us and where are the others?" asked the guard as he looked at Naruto.

"Others? Oh! They must be trying to rescue the face carriage! Don't worry they will be back shortly. Now what has happened here?" asked Naruto as the guard looked at him skeptically.

"Perhaps I should tell your team leader first kid." Stated the guard as Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"I am the team leader now tell me what I need to know." Demanded Naruto as he sent a bit of his killing intent at the guard causing him to sweat.

"Okay Ninja, but first I think we should get inside. The King is inside, but he is injured gravely." Stated the guard as both Hikaru and Michiru's eyes widened as they ran past the guard into the cave.

"My name is not Ninja…it is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, Elite Chuunin of Konoha. Now tell me what I need to know about this mission." Stated Naruto as his eye bore into the man.

It should suffice to say that the man told Naruto all he needed to know about the mission. Just as he was finished his team arrived with the rest of the guards all there.

"It seems we have a lot to talk about. Let's go inside and check on the King. Hinata if you can do some healing jutsu." Said Naruto as Hinata nodded.

Naruto waited as the others entered the cave and stopped Sasuke at the entrance. "What are we dealing with here?" asked Naruto.

"I found four ninja…two of them were Chuunin level. One was Elite Chunnin like you and the one on the bird is perhaps Jounin level. He seemed extremely dangerous." Stated Sasuke as Naruto nodded.

"Are we going to help them then?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes we are…now lets go inside and get ready." Said Naruto as both Sasuke and him entered the cave.

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Sorry it had to end here you guys! I didn't mean for this chapter to be so long, but it was so I decided to cut it in half and give you guys this!

Now I'm sure you all know who is on the bird so I will be having a poll on my profile to see how I should do the battle that involves him.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to check out my new story **Meet The Monster!** Also for all of you who like my story **The Forsaken Fox**, the next chapter is nearly done! YAY!

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Stories that I recommend to all of you!

**The True Horror of Konoha** by** jinx777**

Very original Naruto where he is tortured by the villagers and is driven mad by their hate. He however remains a strong willed individual and keeps his morals! I am borrowing a few ideas for my new Hellsing crossover.

**Hellsing Blood **by **Uzunaru999**

Needs to be updated, but I really enjoyed the few chapters that begin the story.

**Bamf** by **Take it Easy**

What does Bamf stand for? Well for all of you who know the story is exactly what it sounds like lol! So continue to read it! It also doesn't hurt that I used to be called Bamf in my old school lol.

**The Third Uzukage** by **Dark-Nate18**

This story just gets better and better as it progresses! I can't help but check my email waiting for the next update to come out! A VERY BIG MUST READ FOR ANY NARUTO LOVER!

All of these are stories that enjoyed greatly and can't wait for the next update! They are well written and have very original storylines and powers that make them great stories!

Holy Crap...I think I broke 100,000 words! YEAH BABY! YEAH GIVE ME A HIGH FIVE B!TCHES!


	10. Power Unleashed

Yo everyone! I know last chapter was long and kinda boring so I decided to spice this story up a bit! The fights will be hard, fast, and driving and will show just how much Naruto and the other characters have grown!

Now I have decided to start limiting the length of each chapter to about 6,500 words at max so that I have enough time to work on Meet The Monster and a new story crossover that I have decided to write based on Fairy Tail…check my Profile!

Seriously though I came out with a magic that Naruto is going to use! I have it on my Profile Page now and am going to have a poll up to see if you guys like the idea of the **9 Flames of the Eternal Fox** as you can see Naruto will be able command 9 different types of flames as his magic. The poll will just to see if you guys like the idea.

This story will be the climax of Crescent Moon movie and will have Naruto locked in battle with a very powerful foe!

I posted a new challenge on my profile that I believe you should all check out!

Btw Deidara doesn't have his C0-4 jutsu techniques yet, because he has yet to meet Itachi! He will have some of the attacks, but they aren't done in the order that he planned to use against Itachi.

Any way enough of me talking! Here is the new chapter!

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**Power Unleashed**

"So we all know the plan?" asked Naruto as he looked at his team and the 5 guards standing over him.

"Yes, leave it to us Naruto!" yelled Lee as the others smiled at him.

"It will work Naruto." Agreed Sasuke.

"Just let us do our part. I'm actually quite impressed that kids like you can come up with such a plan." Stated the leader of the guards.

"Captain, the day we became shinobi was the day we became adults. Never underestimate a ninja because of their age." Stated Naruto with a smirk as the captain smiled at him.

"We will move out at dusk." Said Naruto.

"Hai!" responded everyone in the room.

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"Are you sure it is smart of us to leave the island?" asked Prince Michiru as his guards helped him into a small sailing boat.

"We are sure. Once back on the mainland we will head to Konoha and get aid to return you to the throne." Said Naruto as he scanned the tree line looking for any threats.

"But the people will have suffered by then!" yelled Hikaru.

"Don't worry Hikaru we will be back to rescue the village. Guys how is the perimeter!" called out Naruto as he scanned his team.

"All things are clear." Said Sasuke from the beach.

"Okay! Get out of here you guys! We will stay for now then meet with you later." Said Naruto as he pushed the boat away.

"So what are we to do now?" asked Naruto as he grouped around his team.

"I was sure that the enemy would make a move on us by now!" stated Sakura as she sighed.

Suddenly a large white dragon flew from the forest straight towards the ground. Just before the dragon hit one could see five blurs jump away from the explosion created by the dragon.

"I was wondering when this guy would show himself." Muttered Naruto as he landed in the sand and glared at a man standing on a branch.

The man had long blonde hair and a wicked smile on his face as he faced Naruto's team. He had his arms crossed and was eyeing Naruto and his team.

"So you leaf shinobi are going to run for it?" asked the blonde haired man, who Naruto recognized from the bingo books as Deidara of the Exploding Clay…an A-Rank criminal who had just left Iwa.

"Deidara of the Exploding Clay. This guy must have paid you quite a bit for you to do a mission like this. Any chance you will just leave and let my team protect our clients?" asked Naruto as he took out his kunai.

"So you've heard of me! Un! Maybe this will be a good fight afterall…" said Deidara as Naruto smiled.

"Maybe, but I don't intend on taking it easy on you at all. I've never once used my full power in a fight yet. However, I think you are worthy of seeing everything I have." Said Naruto with a smile trying to antagonize Deidara.

"You little punk! You think that you will be able to beat me? Ha! You little run will be nothing than a footnote in the art of my explosions!" laughed Deidara.

'So that's why the Old Man told me to stop saying Art is an Explosion? This bastard! After I am done with him it will be mine! HAHAHA' laughed Naruto in his mind as he got a grin on his face.

"What the hell are you smiling at?" asked Deidara.

"Just the fact that you fell for our plan." Said Naruto as Deidara's eyes narrowed at the blond.

"What plan are you talking about? If you ask me it seems that you are at somewhat of a disadvantage. Your team has been discovered and now you are about to be taken out." Stated Deidara.

"You would be right if you guys had actually attacked my team." Stated Naruto as everyone in the clearing quickly disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "We knew that you were a powerful foe so we lured you out to face me while my team takes care of your comrades." Said Naruto with a smirk as Deidara started laughing.

"Please! That team of yours was nothing, but a couple of brats! My companions will track them down and make short work of them." Laughed Deidara.

"That's if they aren't already down and out for the count." Said Naruto as stared at Deidara.

"You have a lot of balls for a brat. Tell you what! Tell me where the Prince and his son are and I may not kill ya! Huh?' asked Deidara as Naruto just smirked.

"You see that would sound tempting, but sadly…" started Naruto before Deidara froze at what he heard. "You have no idea what you are up against." Came a whisper from Deidara's right ear as the branch exploded.

Deidara landed in the sand and looked at the Naruto standing only 20 meters away from him, before he poofed in a cloud of smoke. 'Kage Bunshin?' asked Deidara as he jumped back to avoid a series of kunai sent at him from the dust created from the explosion earlier.

"You think you're hot stuff because you know one good jutsu! Well let's go!" Yelled Deidara as he stuck his hands into his pockets and pulled them out to reveal two mouths on each of his hands.

"Clay Puppet Warriors!" yelled Deidara as both his hands puked out a two clumps of clay that quickly took the form two tall and lengthy warriors. The quickly made their way over to where the dust had settled to show Naruto and two clones facing the two clay soldiers.

The two clones quickly charged at the soldiers and formed Rasengan that he quickly rammed into the chests of the soldiers causing them to explode on contact.

'That clay packs quite the punch.' Thought Naruto as he watched the dust settle before a large amount of clay birds flew through the dust towards him.

"Futon: Great Breakthrough!" yelled Naruto as he shot a blast of wind at the birds causing them to fly back through the cloud causing a series of explosions.

Naruto stood still as he waited for Deidara to make another move as suddenly the ground around him exploded as a large centipede wrapped around him body.

"Gotcha! KATSU!" yelled Deidara as he reappeared on top of a large clay bird.

Naruto's body was quickly consumed by the explosion and Deidara laughed into the wind thinking that he had easily defeated the cocky brat. "Haha you really thought that you stood a chance against me?"

"Futon: Drilling Air Bullet!" came a shout from above Deidara.

"What!" yelled Deidara in surprise as he turned his head in time to see Naruto shoot compact ball of air at his bird. Most surprising though was the fact that they were 20 meters off the ground.

Deidara quickly jumped away from his clay bird right before it impacted with Naruto's jutsu. On impact the bird exploded in a massive blast that created a shock wave that could be felt across the island.

Deidara quickly made another bird as he landed on it's back and looked around trying to spot Naruto. Suddenly a flash from his side alerted him to the kunai that was about to impact his side.

Deidara wasn't fast enough and Naruto had drilled the kunai right into Deidara's right lung causing Deidara to cough out blood. "It's over." Declared Naruto.

"That's what you believe!" yelled Deidara as his body slowly started to turn to clay. "Katsu!"

Deidara and the bird exploded suddenly to surprise of Naruto who blinked away just before the explosion overtook him. Naruto reappeared on the beach holding his left arm that was covered with burns from the explosion.

'Crap! I was positive that I got him with that attack!' exclaimed Naruto in his mind as he made two shadows of himself and had them scan for Deidara.

"I have to admit you are pretty good at escaping from my attacks! However, I have noticed that your disappearing act seems to take some time!" came Deidara's voice as he appeared above Naruto riding yet another clay bird. Surrounding Deidara were what seemed like hundreds of smaller clay birds.

'Fool…that's not the only attacks that I have.' Thought Naruto as he made the sign for his old favorite jutsu.

"Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Shouted Naruto as he summoned about 100 clones around him.

"What do you think that is going to be able to do punk?" asked Deidara as he eyed the army of clones.

'Well I hope this works…this is going to cause a huge freaking explosion!' thought Naruto as he started to focus his chakra.

"Get him boys!" yelled Naruto as he pointed at Deidara as his clones jumped into the air trying to get Deidara. Someone would call the act stupid as Deidara was a good 50 meters away flying out of reach of a simple jump, but Naruto wasn't called unpredictable for anything.

"Cute." Muttered Deidara as he gazed at the smirking Naruto. Suddenly his eyes widened as he saw the Blondes blue eyes suddenly shift to a bright purple that easily stood out in the fading light.

"What the hell is up with his eyes? Does he have a dojutsu?" asked Deidara.

Naruto stood behind his clones with his Rinnegan shining with power as he gazed at Deidara. 'First time I actually use it in a real fight.' Thought Naruto as he extanded him palm at Deidara.

"What they hell is he doing?" yelled Deidara as he felt the blond gather a large amount of chakra.

The clones had just reached the apex of their jump as Naruto muttered two words that seemed to echo across the battlefield with a massive amount of force behind them.

"Shinra Tensai!" he muttered as a massive force of gravity slammed into the group of one hundred clones sending them at break neck speeds that caught Deidara by complete surprise.

"NAMIKAZE HELLFIRE MISSLE BARRAGE!" yelled every single clone as they started glowing pure white as Deidara suddenly realized the amount of danger he was truly in against such an attack.

'I can't escape!' he thought as the clones reached the center of the mass of clay figures and detonated from the center out!

Naruto watched as his clones created a massive explosion that lit up the sky in an impressive show of force that one would be able to see for miles all around. He even had to use chakra to shield himself from the shockwave and the heat even made him shield his eyes.

"Damn there is no way he could've escaped from that! Good thing too…my chakra is about at a quarter of my normal strength." Muttered Naruto as he heard laughing coming from a cloud of dust.

It cleared to reveal a heavily injured Deidara covered with burns covering most of his upper body, but the worst was his hair that was half way burnt away. "This isn't the end! I swear that one day I will make you pay for what you have done!" shouted Deidara as he glared at Naruto.

"What makes you believe I will let you escape? Bansho Ten'in!" declared Naruto as Deidara suddenly flew towards Naruto's extended hand. Naruto was ready to finish the fight with a Rasengan in his free hand.

"Rasengan!" he yelled as he slammed the ball of chakra into the gut of the surprised.

'Gotcha…what is this crap!' thought Naruto as the Deidara that he had just defeated started to turn to clay before exploding with Naruto still holding it.

Naruto appeared twenty meters away with bruises and burns covering his body as his clothes had suffered greatly at the explosion that had nearly killed him. 'I shouldn't have gotten cocky there! Where is he? Did he run then?' thought Naruto as he used to his chakra to summon clones to look for his enemy.

"Hey Boss! I think that his him over the ocean!" yelled one of his clones as Naruto ran over and gazed at the speck in the sky with his Rinnegan.

"Yeah…that is him. He used to clone to distract me while he made his escape." Stated Naruto as he dispelled his clones.

'Guess I should head towards the castle. They should be there by now and should've started fighting. I better save my chakra though...' thought Naruto as he jumped into the forest and started moving towards the council.

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>Lee and Sakura stood three meters apart facing against their large opponent. The beginning of the fight hadn't gone in their favor exactly due to the enemy ninja using a poison gas on them that slowed their reaction time.<p>

This led to them, more specifically Lee getting a beating earlier in the fight while Sakura started working on a medicine against the poison. Luckily her training for the past few months came through and she had completed it and given it to an exhausted Lee.

"I have this Sakura…go to the others! They need that medicine now more than I need help!" declared Lee as he pulled his pant legs up revealing his weights.

"Okay Lee…be careful." Sakura stated as Lee gave her large grin, that seemed out of place considering the blood and bruises on his face.

"Don't worry my Blossom! The Lotus of the Leaf always blooms twice!" he shouted as Sakura smiled and started to run up the stairs.

"Don't think you are going to get away!" shouted the large man as he dashed at Sakura only to be blocked off by Lee.

"You aren't going anywhere! Your fight is with me now!" stated Lee as he charged at the man and nailed him in the face .

The man flew across the room and landed on his feet while wiping the blood away from his faces. "Lucky hit." Declared the man as Lee smiled at him.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Said Lee as he jumped into the air and flipped in the air while pulling on some chain around his ankles. During the apex of his flis twelve bars flew at the man, but he dodged easily enough.

However, what he didn't anticipate were the bars to cause the floor to partially cave in from the force at which they impacted to the ground.

"Yosh! Now I can move much better!" declared Lee as he disappeared from the man's sight.

"Leaf Hurricane!" yelled Lee as he suddenly reappeared in the middle of a spinning kick that impacted with the arm of the man causing his entire arm to go numb. Lee didn't stop there and brought his other foot around and slammed it into the face of his opponent.

This completely knocked the man back and allowed Lee to score some more unanswered attacks before he could retaliate. Lee knocked the man to the ground and jumped back a few meters while he waited for him to get to his feet.

"You scum! I will crush you!" yelled the man as Lee crouched down.

"This will be my final move!" declared Lee as the ground around him started to crack from the power he was summoning. Slowly veins started to appear on his head and his body turned red.

"THIRD GATE OPEN!" yelled Lee as he disappeared from view.

The man could do nothing more than utter a syllable as he was kicked into the air by Lee. Suddenly he felt agonizing pain as he felt himself get smashed from every direction.

Lee suddenly appeared right above the man as they were at the top floor. Lee's hands were then covered with flames as he procedded to lay a beat down on the man punching him hundreds of times as they approached the floor at an insane speed.

Lee did a flip in midair and slammed his foot straight into the face of the man, creating an audible snap at the moment of contact that broke the mans neck. The force from the blow blew the man through 4 feet of concrete and into the basement where he laid dead and defeated.

Lee appeared on the floor above on his one knee panting from the amount of strain he put on his body while using the gates. "Definitely easier than fighting Gaara." Smiled Lee as he fell onto his back.

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Hinata was fairing fairly well against her opponent and would've won by then if there wasn't a gas affecting her senses. However, her speed and skill was far greater than the annoying girl she was facing.

She had even scored a few hits on the girl as she kept using hit and run tactics on Hinata that were starting to take their toll, via poisoned laced kunai. It wasn't fatal, but it was slowing her body even further, but she still had a few cards up her sleave.

"Hinata!" shouted Sakura as she landed by Hinata with a small syringe! "I have the cure for their poison!"

Hinata had wondered why Sakura was with her instead of Lee, but with that statement Hinata instantly understood why Sakura had found her. The syringe in her hand was obviously the cure.

"What how did you already create a cure! I spent years trying to find the perfect blend!" screamed the girl as she glared at the two.

"It took you years to make something like that? I figured out how to fix in like a minute…that's pretty pathetic of you!" retorted Sakura as she gave the cure to Hinata.

"I'll kill you!" The girl screamed as she charged at Sakura with both Kunai drawn.

"8 Trigrams 64 Palms!" yelled Hinata as she charged at the girl, who was too slow to move and was received every single one of the hits that Hinata delivered. Hinata finished the attack with a chest palm to the chest of the girl that sent a burst of chakra into the heart causing it to shut down.

The girl flew back wards and impacted with the wall as her hair slid off to show that she was wearing a wig. "Glad she shut up." Stated Hinata. It wasn't that she liked killing it was just that she had gotten more use to the fact that she was a ninja and ninjas were forced to kill.

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"I never thought I would actually see someone kill there own employer on a mission like this." Stated Sasuke as he stared at the leader of the enemy ninja with his Sharingan eyes activated.

"It doesn't matter anymore I just want to kill you ninja for screwing up my plans!" shouted the man in anger as he charged at Sasuke.

'I have to avoid that arm of his until I can disable it. He seems to be jounin level, but his speed suggests that he is only around chuunin in speed and strength. Most likely he relies heavily on his arm and whatever jutsu he has.' Thought Sasuke as he jumped out of reach of the arm and shot a string of fireballs at the man.

"You won't be catching me with that arm of yours." Stated Sasuke as he continued to fight at a distance from the man.

"Damn you! Doton: Spikes!" shouted the man as he slammed his hand onto the stone roof. This caused a series of spikes to shoot out of the roof and travel the distance to Sasuke.

Sasuke easily predicted the trajectory of the spikes and avoided them with ease as he kept watch on the ninja. Suddenly a bright flash on the other side of the island alerted Sasuke to a massive explosion the lit up the sky for a few seconds.

It seemed to be a massive chain reaction that started at one point and resonated out to a massive semi circle. Soon he felt a small shockwave from the blast and was amazed that an explosion like that was even possible.

"Seems like Deidara is having fun with one of your friends. It won't be long till he joins us here and you all lose." Laughed out the ninja before him.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. If you hadn't noticed there were two types of explosions in that blast. One was white and the others were yellow. I know for a fact that only Naruto has a jutsu that has white light explosions…for all you know that Deidara has already been killed." Retorted Sasuke as he reengaged the enemy ninja.

Sasuke was doing well against the ninja as his Sharingan eyes gave him an easy disadvantage against such opponents that used taijutsu and ninjutsu…especially when they were only mediocre ninja in the first place.

Sasuke kicked him away and jumped back to get distance between himself and ninja and smirked confidently at his opponent. His opponent had received quite a few deep cuts from Sasuke during their bout and was favoring his right leg.

"You wait! Once I get a hold of you, there will be no chance of you winning!" yelled the ninja as his arm started glowing.

"Sasuke!" yelled Hinata and Sakura as they entered the rooftop.

"Hinata! Sakura! I guess you guys handled the ninja you were supposed to fight?" asked Sasuke with a smirk as Hinata and Sakura joined him at his sides.

"Piece of cake Sasuke! Those ninja didn't stand a chance!" declared Sakura as the last opponent growled at the three gennin before him.

"That's impossible my brother and sister would not have been beaten by gennin!" declared the ninja as he gripped his hand even tighter.

"Believe it!" came a voice from behind him as his hand suddenly shattered for an unknown reason and he suddenly felt a kunai pierce his left kidney.

"My team was more than enough to deal with low rate ninja like you." Said the voice again as a boy suddenly materialized out of the shadow casted by one of the torches on the castle.

"Naruto!" cried out Hinata in worry as she saw her boyfriend's state. His clothes were ripped apart and scorched while it appeared that he had suffered burns on his right arm and chest area.

Naruto smiled at Hinata as he pulled the kunai out of the man's kidney and let him fall to the ground dead. "Don't worry Hinata these aren't too ba…" was all he was able to say before he collapsed.

"Naruto!" they called out as they ran to their friends side. Sakura immediately started to diagnose his problem and heal the burns that were covering his body.

"The burns aren't too bad and they should be fine tomorrow, but he is suffering chakra exhaustion…I've didn't even know he could suffer something like that?" stated Sakura as they all nodded.

"Heh you try fighting an A-Class criminal and then traveling across this island in less than five minutes!" was the last thing Naruto said before he fell unconciouss.

"Why does he have all the fun?" asked Sasuke a little irked that Naruto could beat an A-Class ninja.

"What! He's lucky he didn't die!" screamed Hinata as she pulled Naruto up into her chest and held him there.

Sasuke got a sweat drop on his face as he saw Naruto smile despite being unconscious as he was pulled into Hinata's chest. "Pervert…" whispered Sasuke as he walked over to the edge of the castle and saw a large detachment of men arrive out of the woods.

"The soldiers are back…guess Naruto moved faster than I thought." Said Sasuke as Sakura walked up beside him.

"Do you think the captain will be able to talk sense into them?" asked Sakura.

"I'm sure he will…besides once they see the prince they will be forced to stand down. Especially since that guy over there won't be around to command them." Answered Sasuke as he pointed at the stone statue of Shabadaba. (Anyone else think his name is stupid?)

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"So your saying your going to double the amount of pay for the mission and you will open up a trade agreement with Fire Nation for our services?" asked Naruto as he looked at the happy new King.

"Of course I am! I need to start looking out for my people! Hopefully having Konoha as an ally will help protect them from any threats in the future!" responded Prince Michiru.

"Okay then my team and I will be leaving tomorrow. Thank you King Michiru, I hope your people and you have a long period of prosperity." Said Naruto with a smile.

"Well actually Naruto, I have taken the liberty of to send a letter to your Kage explaining that you ninja need a week of rest here in my nation." Stated the King as Naruto looked confused.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Naruto as his team looked equally confused.

"Where you will be resting is on the Northern end of the island at our White Sands Resort, known for one of the most beautiful beaches in the world!" exclaimed the King ignoring Naruto's question.

"Oh! Yes you are right after all! Sasuke was way too exhausted after his battle after all! Dang Uchiha don't know how to do anything right!" exclaimed Naruto going along with what the king was saying.

"Hey what do you mean I was the one exhausted! You were the one who was unconscious after his battle!" yelled Sasuke in anger.

"Poor delusional boy doesn't even remember the battle!" exclaimed Naruto in sadness.

"I tried to fix the damage Naruto…but it was a little too much." Added Sakura as she looked a little sad.

"Wait? Are you guys serious? Did we actually have another battle that I forgot about?" asked Sasuke in confusion as he never expected Sakura to ever play a joke on him.

"Yosh! There were many enemies Sasuke! It is a shame you do not remember it at all!" exclaimed Lee.

"If I were Sasuke I don't think I would want to remember. It was embarrassing for you to be caught off guard like that." Stated Naruto as Sasuke looked really confused.

"Are they telling the truth Hinata? You never lie!" said Sasuke with one last ray of hope.

"Well I don't see how you couldn't dodge such a large hammer…the guy wasn't even a ninja." Whispered out Hinata as Sasuke's mouth dropped as he finally accepted what happened.

"Then what happened? Somebody tell me? Did I beat any of the ninja?" asked Sasuke hopefully.

"Trust us Sasuke! You don't want to remember that battle." Said Naruto as he took a stock of documents from Prince Michiru, who was barely keeping a straight face.

"Well team it seems we have earned of R&R let's get going! By the way thanks King!" yelled Naruto as his team disappeared.

"Dad…I want to be a ninja. So that I can personally protect our people." Stated Hikaru with a smile.

"Maybe I'll ask Konoha to help us have a small ninja force for the future. You know what I'm going to go on a diet and get fit with you! Maybe we can try and convince your mom to come back home too!" stated Michiru with a smile as Hikaru smiled at him and nodded with excitement.

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"Man I am going to miss that beach!" complained Naruto as his team approached the gates of Konoha.

"It was nice to just sit back an relax for the week on the beach. Even though we did train a lot!" yelled Sakura as she glared at Lee, Naruto, and Sasuke. All of whom had the decency to blush at the accusation.

"Well you never know when trouble might occur! It is best to stay at our peaks at all times." Retorted Naruto as Hinata pulled on his arm.

"Don't you think it was a little too much to nearly drown Lee when you trying to teach him how to swim?" asked Hinata.

"Well…"

"Or when you blew up that restaurant?"

"Also when you attacked that shark and started riding on it's back like a surfboard?" added Sasuke at the end with smirk.

"Shut up Teme! You know for a fact that me riding that shark was perhaps one of the most epic things you have ever seen your entire life!" retorted Naruto as he glared at Sasuke.

"Naruto Namikaze!" yelled a ninja as he landed before the team. "The Hokage wants to speak with you urgently! The rest of your team is to wait outside the Hokage Tower while you get a debriefing!" ordered the Ninja as he disappeared.

"Okay, I will meet you guys there!" said Naruto as he blinked away from the group.

"That ninja sounded frantic." Stated Hinata.

"I wonder what happened while we were away?" asked Sakura as the group proceeded to the Hokages tower.  
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Well that is the end of this chapter! Sorry it isn't as long as the other chapters in the story, but I am planning on juggling different stories this summer and that leaves no room for extremely long and tedious chapters that people tend to lose interest in.

For the rest of the story the chapters will be hard, fast, and driving where even the slightest event could impact later chapters in explosive ways!

Don't forget to check out my new Story **Meet The Monster**! It is a Naruto/Hellsing Crossover.

Also keep your eyes out for my next story preview entitled **Paper Wings! **It will perhaps have some of the best ideas I have ever written for a story…I am actually going to try and make someone cry when I write the story. It will be Naruto/Fairy Tail Crossover and the details are on my profile page. Check it out and don't forget to look at the poll!

Now I swore not to do this too much, but I would love to be able to say that I got 300 reviews for my 10th chapter of this story! So I am issuing a challenge to all of you to get me 300 reviews. The one with the 300th get's a special treat that I will reveal later! Hell if I don't then I will get them later lol so no biggie!

Moge de Macht, mit dir sein! Anyone know what that mean…if you are German…it doesn't count!

RECOMMENDATIONS!

**Dragonslayer** by **KitsuneDragon **- This Naruto/Fairy Tail Story is still fairly new with only three chapters out right now, but the chapters that are out are great. It features a Naruto that has been adopted by the Dragon of the Apocalypse and features a new take on his life afterwards. Check it out! It will be worth your time!

**Naruto vs Sasuke The Aftermath **by **Kingkakashi **– I don't really need to recommend this as anyone who has been on this sight for the last two years…at least. Should already know this story and have already read it by now. If you haven't…get off this story and look it up!

**New Chance** by **Hektols** – This is also a very good story that should be read by anyone who is a Naruto fan out there. It is definitely one of the best stories on the sight that involve Minato coming back to life to help Naruto.

**Fairy Tails Lightning Shadow** by **SoulReaperCrewe – **Another Naruto/Fairy Tail crossover that strikes me as the best crossover on the page so far. This should be a must read for anyone who is a fan of both series!


	11. The Retrieval

So guess what! It is my **BIRTHDAY TODAY! JUST WANTED TO GET THIS CHAPTER OUT FOR ALL OF YOU! I MAY HAVE ALSO POSTED A CHAPTER OF PAPER WINGS, BUT TIME IS LIMITED NOW SO IDK LOL…I WROTE THIS STATEMENT IN ADVANCE!**

**LETS GET 300 Reviews before the day is done!**

**READ!**

**I HAVE BEEN DOING FANFICTION FOR OVER A YEAR NOW AND I HAVE LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT SO THIS CHAPTER IS FOR ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO READ MY STORY! THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR MAKING THIS ONE OF THE BEST EXPIERIENCES OF MY LIFE!**

**I have explained this in Meet The Monster, but time is limited for me due to working full time and spending time with the person whom I love. I will be updating and writing during every ounce of free time that I receive so hopefully that is enough!**

**Then there is SKYRIM….the bane of my time!**

**SO HERE IS THE NEXT CHAPTER OF The Fox's Shadow!**

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**The Retrieval**

"What do you mean he was kidnapped! How did that even happened? Don't we have ninja protecting the village at night so stuff like this never happens!" yelled Naruto as Tsunade leveled a hard glare at Naruto.

"These ninja were able to ambush two teams and decimate them. It was already too late for anyone to do anything, by the time they escaped the village Brat!" she yelled in fury as the other occupants in the room looked on with concern and confusion.

"Why are you sending a team of only two chuunin and three gennin then? This mission is important enough to send a higher level team!" argued Naruto as Tsunade sighed.

"Brat…I wish that were true, but Sound has launched an offensive on any town or village along the border. We have had to direct almost all of our forces to ensure that Sound is dealt with! Trust me if there was another way I would've found it by now." Stated Tsunade with a sigh as Naruto looked down in shame.

Naruto looked back up at Tsunade and gave her a small smile. "Don't worry Baa-chan! My team and I will get Konohamaru back in the village before nightfall…Believe it!" declared Naruto as his he rose his fist in the air.

"Don't worry Lady Hokage. I will ensure that we are successful…besides with Naruto here anything is really possible." Stated Shikamaru as Naruto gave him small smile.

"YEAH! Akamaru and I will not stop until that kid is back in the village safe from that Snake Perv!" yelled Kiba as his dog gave a bark in agreement as Tsunade smiled at the group.

'Maybe they will succeed…afterall I have never seen a generation of brighter ninja. This generation will put all the past generations to shame one day.' Thought Tsunade as she looked at the group before her.

Naruto stood at the front wearing forest green ANBU pants with a tight black vest and a fishnet shirt underneath. Over top everything he wore a loose black cloak that he could use to cover his entire body if needed. Beside him stood Shikamaru looking bored, yet determined with his usual choice of clothing.

Behind them stood the other three members of team all looking determined. The first was Chouji Akimichi looking a little apprehensive, but serious none the less. The boy wasn't even eating from a bag of chips, making the appearance seem a little weird. Next to him stood perhaps one of the more stoic boys of their generation…Neji Hyuga. Despite being stoic, the boy had actually gotten much better since his fight with Naruto and he even looked to Naruto as a very valuable comrade for showing him the light. The last of the group was the brash Kiba Inuzuka, who was wearing a very cocky looking grin as he cracked his knuckles in anticipation.

"You will all have 10 minutes before you leave…get going!" yelled Tsunade as they all disappeared from the room as Tsunade leaned back in her chair.

"Why didn't we just send all the rookies?" asked Shizune as Tsunade sighed.

"Sending a larger team will just result in confusion and will only slow them down. I will send a back up team, but they will wait a little while before heading out so they don't slow the main group." Stated Tsunade as Shizune nodded in understanding.

"I hope they all come back unharmed." Added Shizune as Tsunade sighed.

"They better finish the mission successfully." Stated Tsunade. "Although I have complete faith in them to finish this mission. Naruto may be a bit of a knucklehead, but I have never seen a stronger ninja at his age in my life. He will complete the mission…and he will make it seem easy I bet."

"That's what scares me…you usually lose bets." Retorted Shizune as she ducked under a thrown eraser.

"Don't piss me off Shizune!" roared Tsunade as Shizune giggled at Tsunade's unlucky gambling habits.

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"Kiba do you know which gate we need to head to?" asked Naruto as Kiba nodded.

"The East Gate is the one we are to head to. That's where the last team to be attacked was ambushed by the enemy. Akamaru and I will get that scent easily enough." Answered Kiba as Naruto nodded with a smile.

"I will not stand for Konohamaru to be experimented on by that monster. He has hurt too many people and this is the final straw. One day I will personally see to that monsters end myself." Stated Naruto with a hint of anger.

"Hopefully I will be there helping you Naruto." Added Neji as Naruto gave him a small smile.

"So when did they do it Neji?" asked Naruto as the others looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Neji as the others nodded their heads in agreement.

Naruto smiled widely as he answered. "I mean when did they take you to the doctors to have that pole removed from your behind?" asked Naruto as Kiba started laughing at the joke and Neji blushed in embarrassment.

"Shut up!" yelled Neji as Chouji finally started laughing and Shikamaru chuckled.

They all exited the Eastern Gate and found the location of the ambush quickly enough. Immediately Kiba and Akamaru went about getting the scent of the enemy to track them down. Neji also activated his Byakugan and scanned for any signs that showed what they enemy did during the attack.

"What can you tell me Neji?" asked Naruto.

Neji walked over to a tree and grabbed what looked like netting, but it was sticky and stretched easily. "One of them can create…spider web and another uses Earth Jutsu very well. That is all I can tell from this battle right now." Stated Neji as Kiba came up.

"Yeah…one of them smells like a spider. The others all have weird smells on them, but it appears that there are only four enemies at the moment and Konohamaru is with them." Said Kiba as Akamaru barked in agreement as Naruto nodded.

"Okay Kiba you are at the front track them down with that nose of yours, I will be behind you then, Neji will be behind me to scout for ambushes, Shikamaru you are behind me, and Chouji you will be bringing up the rear. Now let's get going and save that kid!" yelled Naruto as the group smiled and took off into the forest.

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"Lady Hokage? What did you need Naruto for earlier?" asked Hinata as the other members of their team walked into the office.

"I sent him on a mission to retrieve Konohamaru from a group of enemy ninja with a few others." Stated Tsunade as the others looked confused.

"Why didn't we all go then?" asked Sasuke, who was a little ticked that he didn't get to go on the mission himself.

"There were already enough people on the team. Any more and the team wouldn't have been able to move quickly enough. You all will be going as back up to help them." Stated Tsunade as they nodded in understanding.

"Then we shall go with them." Came a emotionless voice from the doorway.

Immediately they all turned to see Gaara of the Sand standing there with his two siblings at his side. They were all surprised to see that Gaara no longer had that murderous aura that followed him around only a few months ago before the chuunin exams.

"Why would you want to help us?" asked Sasuke.

"They are here to finalize a peace treaty between our two villages for the next five years. If you wish to help then you can assist a few of the Shinobi here to go help rescue Konohamaru Sarutobi." Said Tsunade.

"The kid that ran into me?" asked Kankuro as Temari face palmed.

"Figures you would remember that." She sighed. The Konoha gennins all looked reluctant to trust them…especially Lee.

Seeing Lee, Gaara decided to do something that surprised all in the room. Gaara walked up to Lee, causing him to tense a bit, before falling to his knees. "Please forgive me for my actions from before. I was lost in darkness and only now have I began to find myself." Asked Gaara as the whole room looked shocked by his actions.

"What? Why are you apologizing to me?" asked Lee…a little shocked that this kid who had tried to kill him before was now apologizing to him.

Gaara sighed as he closed his eyes. "Someone showed me that I was on the wrong path…so I am trying to make amends and prove to everyone that I have changed." Stated Gaara. So I humbly ask for you forgiveness." Finished Gaara.

Lee did nothing for a minute as he contemplated this new development when suddenly his face broke out in a wide grin. "YOSH! YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY WITH SINCERITY! I ACCEPT YOUR APOLOGY MY FRIEND!" yelled Lee with a gusto as most of the room held their ears in pain, but Gaara just smiled at Lee and nodded.

"Thank you…I do wish to tell you that you are one of the most powerful shinobi I have ever met before. It was an honor of mine to have fought you." Said Gaara as Lee smiled.

"It was an honor to have fought you Gaara! Let's have a rematch some time!" yelled Lee as Gaara smiled and nodded. The others in the room had a small smile on their faces at the display before them.

"Gaara…we do not have time for this. If you are going to help on the mission then you should know that they left only 30 minutes ago." Said Tsunade as Gaara nodded and motioned to this siblings to follow him out of the room.

"Gaara!" cried Hinata as Gaara reached the doorway. He turned around to stare at the girl. "Please make sure Naruto is alright?" asked Hinata hopefully.

Gaara stared at her for a second before a small smile broke out on his face. "It would be my honor." He said before he exited the room with his shocked siblings.

"He really has changed…" said Sasuke Uchiha as the others looked at him strangely.

Sasuke looked at all their confused faces in surprise. "What?" he asked abruptly.

"Nothing…" they all responded a little too quickly for his liking.

"How hard did you say he got hit again during the last mission?" asked Tsunade as Hinata giggled.

"Really hard…Lady Hokage." She answered as the others in the room laughed at Sasuke's expense.

"Well Lady Hokage it's time that I excuse myself from the room! I must go on a very long run to get back in the old routine! YOSH!" yelled Lee as he jumped out the window and started heading towards the wall.

"That kid never slows down…." Stated Sakura as the others nodded…completely unaware of the fact that Lee had already passed the Sand trio on his way to assist Naruto's team.

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"How many are down there Neji?" asked Naruto as his team quickly approached the group of ninja that were currently resting at a small campfire.

Neji activated his Byakugan and quickly told him that there were only four opponents that seemed to be around Chuunin level in chakra strength and that there was a fifth opponent a while out with mid jounin level reserves.

"Okay lets ambush the first group and move out before they have a chance to react. I personally don't feel like dealing with a jounin level ninja right now. I will send a team of clones henged as us to see if the enemy has set up any traps." Said Naruto as the rest nodded. "Let's go then."

Two minutes later the entire team had surrounded the camp and watched how a team of clones henged to look like them attacked the group of sound ninja. It was a good thing too since the clones were caught in a giant earth dome that was created by the largest enemy.

The real Naruto immediately fired a large ball of air straight into the center of the enemies group forcing them to all scatter less they get injured by the explosion that came when the ball of air hit the ground.

That was signal as they all rushed in. Kiba and Akamaru flew forward in twin Gatsuga's; and Chouji rolled in using his main rolling technique rushing towards the large man who had used the earth Jutsu to trap the clones.

Neji himself went after one that jumped high into the trees trying to escape quickly, but he was thrown back into the clearing by a few well-placed Juken strikes from Neji. The girl had reached for a flute of some sort, but she stopped short due to a shadow at her feet that led to a bored looking Nara.

Chouji smashed into the large man sending him to the ground. This gave Chouji just enough time to use his expansion jutsu to pin the man down. "Get the hell off me!" cried out the man.

Akamaru and Kiba had already decimated their opponent with a powerful two way Gatsuga. The man was too slow to react and when the attacks connected everyone learned that he was actually two men that were fused together. Neji finished his opponent in record time with his most powerful techniques.

"Well that was easy…" deadpanned Naruto as he walked into the clearing ignoring the shouts coming from his downed opponents.

"You think this crap will stop us you piece of shit!" yelled the Red headed girl.

Naruto stopped to look at her before laughing a bit. "You aren't escaping from that shadow any time soon." 'Unless she has some sort of power-up…but what are the chances of…da fuck?' thought Naruto as he watched the girl smirk before her body began to get black markings all over her body.

The same was happening with the other shinobi in the clearing. Chouji had easily been thrown off of the larger enemy and Kiba had been decked by the two headed guy thing…? Neji's opponent had been able to get to his feet and evade another attack from Neji. The red headed female was the last to escape and soon they all stood apart from each other with the container holding Konohamaru in the center between them all.

"Looks like we got ourselves a Mexican stand off." Declared Naruto as every shinobi looked at him in confusion. "Are you telling me I am the only person who has ever heard of that?" asked Naruto as his team nodded.

"Damn! Screw this I am giving you all one chance to retreat before we attack. Trust me…you don't want to screw with us!" challenged Naruto as their opponents snarled at his team.

"Screw you, you dickless pansy! We are Lord Orochimaru's elites guards! You don't scare us at all!" yelled the Red haired girl. She was obviously the leader of the group of enemies.

"You are that snake fags personal guards? That's a surprise…everyone choose an opponent. I will head off and prevent that other ninja from reaching us." Said Naruto as his team nodded.

"Got it Naruto!" stated Chouji as he popped a pill into his mouth and his chakra spiked causing all the team, but Shikamaru to look at him in surprise.

"Akimichi food pills…gives us a boost of chakra!" said Chouji with a smirk as the others nodded.

"Okay everyone…pick an opponent and let's take them out." Said Shikamaru as they all nodded. No one noticed the container holding Konohamaru disappear into the ground. "We can't afford to let these men live…it will deal a devastating blow to Sound." Stated Shikamaru.

"Hai!" shouted his team.

"Nothing but a bunch of kids. This won't take long at all." Stated the four armed man that Neji had attacked.

"Don't underestimate them. They were able to ambush us and actually do some damage to us." Stated the man that Kiba had attacked.

"Wait! Where's the container with the brat in it!" yelled the Red head as she looked around for the container, but found nothing.

"You bastards! Do you have any idea what he will do to us if he finds out that we lost that container!" yelled the larger man as Naruto's team smirked in response, now knowing that Konohamaru was safe.

"Screw this! Kill them quickly so that we can find that other brat!" yelled the red head as all the sound shinobi began to use the chakra of their curse seal.

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Naruto had sensed his enemy long ago right after Neji had first pointed him out to the team. He could tell it was powerful and probably would be able to take his team out.

That was why he left his team to go after this man. He no longer had to worry about holding back or did he have to worry about his team. They were all strong enough to handle those four back there. He was sure of it!

Naruto blinked away and appeared in the middle of clearing as soon as his opponent arrived in the clearing himself. "What is this? Where are the Sound 4?" asked the man as he eyed Naruto.

"They ran into a little trouble. Don't worry though…my team has them taken care of at the moment." Said Naruto with a smirk at the white haired man before him frowned…showing just a little emotion.

"That is no surprise to me…they were nothing more than trash to me." Said the enemy as Naruto nodded.

"So that's the type of person you are? Arrogant in every way and when you meet someone weaker than you…you just call them trash." Said Naruto as he scowled at the man. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze….you opponent will be me today."

"This won't take long…my name is Kimimaro Kaguya." Stated the ninja as he pulled a large bone out of his elbow. The bone was in the shape of a sword and it instantly put Naruto on edge.

'Zeratul! Any chance I still have those Trench Knives? I know you said they would eventually disappear, but I'm pretty sure it would work well against this guy.' Thought Naruto.

'_**I am not sure if they are still the trench knives, but there is something here. Be careful young one…he seems to be able to manipulate his bones.'**_Said Zeratul as Naruto nodded and proceeded to try and unseal his knives.

What came out was something totally unexpected, but awesome in Naruto's opinion. Because there sitting on his hand was a gauntlet that he had seen Zeratul wield on many occasions.

'Zeratul…is this what I think it is?' though Naruto in awe as he stared at the gauntlet.

"_**Indeed it is! A Warp Blade of the Dark Templar! A blade that draws off the very essence of the void to cut down our enemies. Channel your energies into the gauntlet and it will do the rest!' **_exclaimed Zeratul as Naruto smiled with glee.

'What is that on his wrist?' asked Kimmimaro to himself.

"It's time I showed this world the true power of a Dark Templar!" exclaimed Naruto as he activated his blade. Out came a beam of green energy that formed into the shape of a short blade.

"Strange weapon…but it will do you no good if you cannot match my level of skill." Stated Kimimaro as he charged towards a smirking Naruto.

"That's if I engage you directly." Whispered Naruto as he pulled his cloak over him and he exploded in a burst of shadows.

Kimmimaro stopped in his tracks and looked around for his enemy. "Where did he go?" he asked himself as he observed his surroundings.

A slight sound behind him alerted him of Naruto's presence as he brought his bone sword up to block the attack. However Kimimaro was surprised to see the glowing green blade cut right through his bone like a knife through hot butter.

Naruto quickly disappeared just in time to avoid a spike shooting out of Kimimaro. 'Shit! I haven't practiced the silent killing technique enough yet.' Thought Naruto as he made another attempt to kill his opponent.

"Do not believe that you will be able to win this fight thought cheap tricks. I can hear and smell you and soon I will have killed you." Declared Kimimaro.

"Really! Shadow Spears!" yelled Naruto as a large amount of spikes shot out of the ground heading at Kimimaro. Right before the he jumped back to avoid every single one of them, but that is exactly what Naruto wanted.

Two shadows jumped from the spears and started to run through seals as Kimimaro's eyes widened in surprise. "Futon: Drilling Air Bombs!" yelled the shadows as they shot to large balls of air at the exposed Kimimaro.

Kimimaro crossed his arms over his chest right as the balls connected and exploded in a large shower of fire and wind. Naruto landed on the ground and turned to face the dust cloud that was slowly dissipating, when suddenly a hail of bone spikes shot through the air at the surprised Naruto.

"Shit!" yelled Naruto as he rolled away to avoid the deadly projectiles. As he was rolling he glanced at the cloud and saw that his opponent was still relatively unhurt. 'How? Those were direct hits?'

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" yelled Naruto as ten clones popped into existence. "Open him up boys!" yelled Naruto as his clones began to attack Kimimaro in all sorts of ways.

Kimimaro dodged the surprisingly well coordinated attacks with difficulty as the clones used anything they could from kunai, wind, and shadows to make him move around the clearing.

Meanwhile Naruto was preparing his next move wondering why his attack earlier had done no damage to his opponent. 'He can create weapons from his bones so does that mean he can harden his body too? If that is the case then I need to get in real close to him with the warp blades…but he is a better sword fighter than me. Whatever…I am just going to wing it!' thought Naruto as he activated his warp blade.

"Void: Shadow Shards!" yelled a clone as a hail of shadow darts shot at Kimimaro. The sound jounin easily jumped away, but could do nothing to dodge the kick that was awaiting from above.

Kimimaro rolled onto his feet and stared at the smirking clones in annoyance. "This is far from over trash. You have yet to do anything that has done any real damage to me." Said Kimimaro as the clones smiled at him.

"Yeah…your right, but you have yet to do anything to even push us on the defensive." Said the lead clone.

"Is that so?" taunted Kimimaro.

"Duh! What battle have you been fighting?" asked a clone on the end. This caused Kimimaro to smirk in response.

"Release Curse Seal Level 1!" yelled Kimimaro as his entire body was engulfed by black evil chakra.

"Level what?" asked all the clones at once before five of them were immediately destroyed by a transformed Kimimaro.

Naruto quickly blinked away to avoid Kimimaro who had moved past the clones and tried to take Naruto out before he could react. 'Damn! How can he receive such a boost of power!' thought Naruto as dodged a sword swipe from the faster Kimimaro.

Naruto tried to use the void to turn invisible, but Kimimaro easily sensed him and had nearly killed him so he resolved not to use that attack. The Rinnegan was out of the question on the chance that Orochimaru might come after him if he had learned about it so he was using wind jutsu, shadow manipulation, and his warp blade to turn the tide of the battle.

Naruto lashed out with his warp blade and cut through two of the spikes protecting Kimimaro's major organs, but he was unable to close in and finish the attack due to Kimimaro quickly counterattacking and re-growing the cut bones.

"Is this all you have?" questioned Kimimaro as he started to stab at Naruto in a rapid pace.

"Not even close!" growled Naruto as two clones burst from a shadow and fired two spears of air at Kimimaro.

Kimimaro took both the attacks head on and was launched across the clearing with two small holes in his abdomen. Naruto landed at his feet and began to run through a series of seals. "Futon: Bringer of Storms!" yelled Naruto as a large twister formed in front of him.

If one had the Sharingan they would be able to see that the twister was a series of large wind blades circling around each other at around 150 mph. Any normal human would be ripped to shreds if they were to enter the twister.

"This is the end!" yelled Naruto as the twister flew across the clearing at the astonished Kimimaro as he had no where to go since the twister was sucking everything in…including the ground that he was standing on.

Kimimaro pulled two longer blades from his arm and stabbed them into the ground as deeply as he could to try and stay in position…however the plan didn't work. Slowly, but surely Kimimaro was pulled away from his position until the ground completely gave in.

Kimimaro flew towards the cloud at break neck speeds and disappeared into the vortex and what followed was a large grinding noise as Kimimaro's bones tried to stop the blades of wind.

Naruto dropped to his knee panting as the jutsu continued to destroy everything around it. 'Damn! It takes so much energy just to concentrate on that jutsu, but it should've ripped through him.' Thought Naruto as he slowly watched the twister disappear only for Kimimaro to be nowhere in sight.

"Cra…" shouted Naruto as he was suddenly impaled by a large bone spear. It extended all the way from 10 feet away where a transformed Kimimaro was sticking out of the ground. His skin had darkened and large bone spikes were perturbing out of his back like some sort of dinosaur and he had a long tail.

Kimimaro pulled the spear out and started to slowly approach the bleeding Naruto. "This is the end of you trash." Stated Kimimaro in a deep voice as he raised the spear above his head.

'Damn! It can't end this way! Kurama I need chakra! Kurama are you there?' asked Naruto in his mind, but he couldn't reach either Kurama or Zeratul.

"Finish it…but I hope you know that my friends will finish this fight." Said Naruto as Kimimaro smirked at Naruto.

"Doubt it." Stated Kimimaro as he drove the spear at Naruto…..

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Today is my birthday! Keep an eye out for my other stories this week cause I'm planning on posting them!

Gotta go and seeya everyone…I would appreciate reading some reviews at work today lol!


	12. End of the Beginning!

Yo! So my account was banned for a little while for posting those notes and petitions. I'm a little upset…but whatever I don't really care. If anyone should care it should be you guys since you're the ones who are reading it!

I hope you guys really enjoy this chapter since I have been thinking of ideas all week! Let me tell you this though…there is going to be a huge surprise early on in this chapter…especially since I got a lot of reviews predicting the wrong thing MUHAHAHA!

OH! Thanks for all the reviews! I have finally made the 300 review mark last chapter and I would like to thank you soooo much!

Have an awesome summer!

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**The Perilous Route**

Clang! Naruto stared with wide eyes as he stared at the kunai that was now blocking the bone sword of Kimimaro. Naruto followed the kunai to the body holding it and his eyes widened even further.

'You have got to be kidding me! KYUBI! ZERATUL I NEED YOU RIGHT NOW!' yelled Naruto in his mind as he stared at the man in disbelief and slight fear.

"I'm sorry…but my organization has use of this boy. I am going to have to ask you to back off so that we can take him away." Stated the man in a emotionless tone. Kimimaro did nothing in return and just stared at the man with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Akatsuki…my master has expressed interest in your organizations destruction. It will help us in the long run if I eliminate you and prevent you from hunting my leader down in the future….Itachi Uchha." Stated Kimimaro as he went to attack Itachi with another attack.

'Crap! I have to get out of here!' thought Naruto as he tried to shrink away from the two shinobi before him.

"Where do you think your going brat? You and me have a score to settle that can only be settled by the eventual loss of one or more of your limbs." Stated Kisame as he appeared behind Naruto.

"_Naruto…do you need us for anything?"_ Zeratul finally stated inside Naruto's mind causing Naruto to finally sigh in relief.

'I need chakra! Please Kyubi and where were you two!' yelled Naruto in his mind.

"_Sorry Naruto…the Kyubi challenged me to a game of cards. Didn't think it would take too long…sorry. Good news is that he agrees to giving you enough chakra to beat these fools." _said Zeratul as Naruto developed a sweat drop. However, he couldn't think on the matter as he had to roll away from a downward swinging Samehada.

'I don't care! Just give me the chakra!' yelled Naruto as he continuously dodged Kisame's attacks.

"Is this all a Jinchuriki can dish out? Ha this is going to be easier than I thought!" yelled Kisame as he brought done Samehada on the unmoving Jinchuriki. However, what Kisame couldn't see was the smirk that grazed Naruto's lips and the change in Naruto's eyes.

"Shinra Tensei…" muttered Naruto as Samehada was suddenly stopped in mid air by an unseen force. "What is this?" questioned Kisame before he was suddenly slammed by an invisible force that sent him flying half way across the clearing.

Both Itachi and Kimimaro stopped there fight to stare in wonder at Naruto. Naruto was standing tall with only the lower part of his face showing under his cloak…however there staring at him were a pair of violet ringed eyes.

"Rinnegan…" stated Itachi in shock as he believed the Akatsuki's puppet leader was the only one to possess such eyes. "It seems things have just started to get interesting." Mused Itachi as he had to go back to fighting his bone wielding opponent.

"What a surprise…I really didn't believe anyone, but Pain had those eyes. It's a good thing too…I've always wanted to test myself against them." Stated Kisame as he hoisted Samehada up and smirked at the serious look Naruto was giving him.

"Then show me what you've gut…chum nugget." Stated Naruto as Kisame developed a sweat drop on his head from such a lame name. Kisame charged at Naruto, but stopped in surprise as he watched hundreds of shadow tendrils shoot from Naruto's back. They advanced and covered the two warriors in a large cocoon of darkness with the only light coming from Naruto's Rinnegan eyes.

"Heh…you forget who I am brat. Samehada here can track you well enough that I don't need to see you!" said Kisame as he spun around and swung his sword…only to miss completely.

"You see…that would work on a normal shinobi. However what that sword is doing is just sensing the chakra of the dome we are in and by controlling the chakra output at certain spots I can control your swords senses." Explained Naruto as Kisame swung at where he was sure Naruto was located.

"You got me you little brat…but did you know that Samehada's special ability is that is can eat the chakra in the air. Your little technique won't last much longer and then you are all mine." Stated Kisame as he felt a small cut across one of his arms.

Naruto said nothing opting to just chuckle in response to the statement. "You may want to check with your sword on that. Not many people know this, but this technique also drains the chakra of anyone, besides me, in it…including that sword of yours. I can feel them both sucking away the chakra and it won't be ending anytime soon." Explained Naruto as he moved swiftly in the mass of darkness.

"Pretty cocky aren't you brat." Stated Kisame as he received another shallow cut to his body once more, and thankfully Samehada healed it up quite a bit. "However, you aren't facing some gennin kid….don't underestimate me." Stated Kisame as he ran through a set of seals.

Naruto rushed to intercept the sequence, but Kisame had already activated the Jutsu and was now pumping a very large quantity of water out onto the battlefield. Naruto acted quickly and jumped high into the air and breached the surface of the shadow dome as it began to break apart.

He also took notice of both Itachi and Kimmimaro joining him on top of top of the large growing lake of water. "He did this jutsu?" asked Itachi as he glanced at Naruto in surprise.

'I didn't believe he would be this strong already? Maybe he will be ready to face him in few years.' Thought Kisame as he saw Kisame rise to the surface of the lake smiling toothily at him.

"Impressive technique…reminds me of the silent killing technique Zabuza Momochi used to use. However, if the environment changes then the technique is subdued like so." Stated Kisame as he hinted towards the large lake of water around them.

"No duh…I was just here you know? God what Zabuza lacked in eyebrows you lack in brains!" taunted Naruto as Kisame glared at the child.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you!" yelled Kisame as he charged across the water ignoring everyone else. He was on a mission to slaughter the Jinchuriki and no one was going to get in his way.

Kisame swung down and missed Naruto by a second as the boy blinked away and appeared 10 meters in the air with his one arm extended. " As you said…a change of scenery changes the odds quite a bit. Shinra Tensei!" yelled Naruto.

Kisame could do nothing as he was slammed with an invisible force and sent straight to the ground. The lake itself was blasted away from the epicenter of the attack and both Kimimaro and Itachi were hard pressed not to get caught in the massive tidal wave that formed from the attack.

Naruto landed in the massive muddy pit caused by the expulsion of the large lake of water. No more than twenty meters away laid Kisame who was barely on his feet holding Samehada for support.

"Damn that attack…" stated Kisame as Samehada began to heal him once more.

"Yeah it is pretty awesome eh?" asked Naruto with a cheeky grin. However, he didn't smile for long as he rolled to he side to avoid Itachi, who had nearly sunk a Kunai into Naruto's spine.

"Impressive speed Naruto…I see you have at least improved. Tell me…how is Sasuke these days?" asked Itachi as he stood next to his partner. None acknowledged the presence of Kimimaro as he landed 10 meters away from both parties, forming a triangle.

"Better now…you messed him up pretty badly that day Itachi. I was lucky to have the Kyubi otherwise things wouldn't be the same now." Answered Naruto as he activated his warp blades once more.

"Ahh…I'm surprised about that. I always believed Sasuke would follow me down my path, but it seems I was mistaken. Now Naruto…we can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Come with us now." Stated Itachi as he approached Naruto slowly.

"You have to be stupid if you think I would ever come with you." Stated Naruto…he glanced over Itachi's shoulder briefly and smirked a bit at what he saw.

"I don't like taking no for an answer…" stated Itachi as his Magyenko Sharingan activated.

Sharingan and Rinnegan eyes stared at each other in a silent war for dominance as Kisame and Kimmimaro looked at the two in wonder. "I have to thank you Itachi…you gave me the tools to fight you."

"So that is what unlocked those eyes of yours? This explains how our newest member already knew about what his eyes. Quite a surprise, but he refused to tell us who possessed them." Stated Itachi as he drew a kunai.

"So he survived that attack then?" asked Naruto as Itachi nodded just a bit. "Well let's get this started then."

Naruto blinked and appeared directly above Itachi and slashed at him with his Warp Blade, but Itachi narrowly ducked under the blade and sent the kunai at Naruto's gut, but Naruto blinked away again, and appeared just behind Itachi.

"You've gotten better with that attack." Stated Itachi as he substituted himself with a log, that was now severed in half. Naruto blinked once more and appeared again right in front of a Surprised Itachi.

"It seems I have." Stated Naruto as he cut Itachi in half. However Naruto didn't celebrate and only blinked away as Itachi exploded in a cloud of smoke and showed yet another log.

Itachi stepped out into the clearing and looked ahead to see Naruto materialize a few meters in front of him. "You seem to be able to track me quite well?" asked Itachi as he stared at Naruto impassively.

"I can feel the ripples in the void. I can sense you no matter what you do Itachi…with in reasonable distances of course." Said Naruto as he blinked once again to appear right behind Itachi with his Warp Blade only a centimeter away from his neck.

"Impressive…you have quite the chance to be one of the best assasins this world will ever know. However, you lack experience." Said Itachi as he burst into a flock of crows.

'Genjutsu? But how?' thought Naruto as he watched as the crows circled him. Suddenly his arm was cut deeply followed by his cheek.

Naruto acted quickly and sent chakra to his eyes as he threw his arms out and used Shinra Tensei to dispel the genjutsu completely. Naruto's vision blurred back quickly and blinked just in time to avoid a massive fireball.

'Gotcha' thought Naruto as he appeared behind Itachi and stabbed him in the back with his warp blade.

"Impressive, but this is nothing more than a clone." Stated Itachi as Naruto's eyes widened as he felt a disturbance in the void. 'I can't dodge in time.'

However, Naruto was saved by a large dome of sand that completely blocked him off from Itachi. 'Gaara!' "Leaf's Whirlpool!" 'Lee?' thought Naruto as he heard a large impact.

"Do you make it a habit to engage missing nin like this?" came the monotonous voice of Gaara as the sand dome crumpled. On the other side Lee was crouched down with his fist raised towards Itachi.

Itachi himself looked a little flustered and seemed to be holding his reddened cheek from which Lee's attack presumably hit. "Can't say I'm not glad to see you guys!" said Naruto with a smirk.

"Naruto…do we have to deal with the other two right now?" asked Gaara as his sand started to dance around them in agitation.

"No…the other two seem to be preoccupied. We should get out of here as soon as possible. There is no telling on how many enemy ninja are on the way to help." Said Naruto as Itachi approached the three ninja.

"Back up from the Leaf and Sand? It seems I can't afford to stall any longer." Stated Itachi as his eyes morphed into those of the Magyenko Sharingan.

"Don't look at his eyes!" yelled Naruto as his Rinnegan flashed to life again. Gaara immediately brought his sand up to cover his body and Lee closed his eyes. "Are you going to be alright Lee?"

"Yes Naruto! Gai-Sensei taught me how to fight with out using my eyes!" shouted Lee as he resumed his stance.

"Good! Let's do this!" yelled Naruto as he blinked away and a wave of sand shot forth from Gaara.

Itachi jumped away from the sand and ducked under an attack of Naruto's as he kicked Naruto away, but he was quickly forced to retreat as several tendrils of sand rose from the ground and attempted to wrap around him.

In the air Itachi had to quickly bring his arm up to block the spinning kick that came from Lee. Itachi flew through the air and had to tilt a little to the side to avoid Naruto's blade, but he wasn't fast enough to completely avoid the attack and received a shallow cut to his ribs.

Itachi fell to the ground, landing on one knee as he stared at the three young ninja before him. "I'm surprised…" he started as he glanced at Kisame, who was just about to finish his opponent. "I'm surprised that your generation is so strong. Maybe you all do stand a chance against him…be prepared Naruto and Gaara for we shall be coming for you two soon." He finished as he burst into a flock of crows to the shock of the three ninja.

Kisame getting the message that it was time to go quickly finished the Sound Shinobi off with a massive attack from Samehada. "Too bad this kid was sick…could've been a close battle if he had been healthy." He stated as he turned to run away.

"Should we go after him?" asked Gaara as Naruto swayed a little on his feet.

"Nah…the mission was a success…my clone that has Konohamaru has just entered Konoha. Besides…I think I'm out of chakra." Stated Naruto as he fell face first into the ground. "Yep…definitely out of chakra." He muttered as Lee picked him up.

"Now we shall have that race that you denied to have earlier Gaara! The odds are even as you have that gourd and I have this sack of shit on my back!" laughed out Lee as he picked up Naruto.

"I'll get you for that comment Lee." Muttered Naruto as he fell unconscious.

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Well sorry for the long wait and the even shorter chapter! Once again, I have been so busy this summer that I can't concentrate all of my time on writing. Well that was the end of the retrieval arc and thus starts the filler arc that I have been planning for a while now!

Get ready for Super Naruto as when he returns to Konoha he will be full Templar…High and Dark for all of you who StarCraft you know it will be awesome! HAHAHA!

Next Chapter of Meet The Monster will be out soon!

I'm putting The Forsaken Fox, DBZ Hogwarts, and Paper Wings up for adoption as I don't have to time to continue writing them. So get back to me if you want to continue them in my stead…I would love for them to be finished even if I'm not the one to do it.


	13. Into the Void

I would like you all to know that I am sorry for the extremely long wait that you all had to endure before I posted this story! I lost my will to write completely for any story which has never happened before. Hopefully, I have now regained that will as I am writing like I used to!

I would like to let you all know that this will begin the training arc….it won't be long and many thing's will be skipped only to be revealed later in the story. What I will cover is Kyubi training and some Templar powers…might add a few Rinnegan powers in there too.

One last thing I will be putting a poll up to discuss possible routes in the future of the story. Think hard on your answers for they will make some changes in the story.

So this chapter is thankfully longer than the last as I thought I owed you all a good chapter for once this time around so here it is!

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Into the Void

Naruto smiled as he ate alongside his friends at the local Akimichi Bar & Grill. It had only been two days since the battle against Orochimaru's men and the two Akatsuki members and now they were celebrating a fairly successful mission.

No one had been seriously hurt on the mission as the Sound Four were slowly overwhelmed by the tenacity and teamwork that Chouji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Neji displayed against their more powerful opponents.

It was for that reason that every single one of the Rookie 12 had decided to go out and celebrate. They were celebrating many things at this meal…mainly a successful mission, but they were also celebrating change in general. Every single one of them had changed over the past few months in many ways. Naruto was a prime example of this as was Hinata, Sakura, Gaara, and Sasuke.

Now Naruto was just sitting there with his arm around Hinata listening to the many stories being told by his group of friends. It was fun listening to them ramble on about their first c-rank missions.

Although he wasn't sure how long this would last…Akatsuki was out there just waiting for the day when he would be vulnerable. When that day came he was sure that all the people around him wouldn't hesitate to fight on his behalf and that scared him.

It scared him more than anything else in the world. How he had finally gotten acceptance from these people and yet that might one day lead to their end. That's why he was going to continue to get stronger! Soon he would be leaving for a three year trip with Jiraiya where they would train to master the Kyubi and master the powers of the Void and perhaps Khalai as Zeratul said it was possible to master both like his old friend Tassadar.

However, none of his friends knew that yet. Naruto was reluctant to tell them…most importantly the angel sitting right beside him. She was the most beautiful thing in the world to him and he never wanted to let her go.

But in order for her to stay safe he would have to leave and get stronger for her and for the people who accepted him! It was his job to protect them all from harm…his job as the future Hokage of the Leaf to protect everyone.

That was why he had accepted Jiraiya's offer to take him on the training trip. It was to protect the village and that was all that he truly cared about. They would be leaving that morning in order to get as far away from the village as possible.

Yet Naruto found himself unable to accept the fact that he was leaving her. Perhaps the only person that could literally get him to give up on being the Hokage.

No! She at least deserved to know why he was leaving! So with a sense of purpose Naruto stood up to the surprise of his friends and grabbed Hinata's hand.

"Sorry guys, but I need to talk to Hinata here alone. Guess I will just have to catch all of you later." Said Naruto as he began to drag a confused Hinata away.

"Did anyone else notice Naruto's attitude?" asked Ino as soon as the door was closed.

"It did seem strange. There seemed to be a whole lot on his mind." Added Shino as everyone looked at Shikamaru as if expecting him to add onto the conversation.

"Why are all of you staring at me?" he asked curiously.

"Do we have to ask?" asked Kiba.

Shikamaru sighed as he looked out the window at the slowly darkening sky. "It's quite obvious…Naruto is perhaps one of the most selfless people we know. Now from what I know there is a group of S-Rank ninja out looking for Naruto." Shikamaru started.

"Are you implying that Naruto is about to leave the village?" asked Shino as everyone stood up at once to go confront Naruto.

"Not in that sense." Shikamaru quickly added. "If anything he is probably going to go on a training trip with Jiraiya so that he can get strong enough to fight off this organization."

"Why didn't he tell us?" asked Sakura.

"Probably wanted to let Hinata know before he told anyone else. I mean it has to be hard on the guy with so many skilled ninja after him." Stated Shikamaru with a sigh as all his friends nodded.

"Then we should start training harder ourselves so that we can be there to help him too!" shouted Chouji as they all stared at him in shock. "What? I may be lazy, but Naruto was one of my first friends! I will do anything to protect him!"

"Chouji's right! Naruto deserves our help!" agreed Ino as Kiba scoffed a bit at that.

"Aren't you one of the people who used to always make fun of him?" retorted Kiba mockingly.

"That was in the past! He has done so much more for all of us and it means having to train harder than so be it!" she declared as Kiba offered her a small smile.

"Glad to hear that Ino…maybe now you won't diet." Came a gravely voice from behind the three members of Team 10.

"Asuma-sensei…I offered no words of training harder." Sighed out Shikamaru as he turned to face his smirking sensei.

"Sorry Shikamaru, but you are all a team and that means you will all train harder. I am going to make you three a force to be reckoned with by the time Naruto comes back." He said as Shikamaru muttered Troublesome under his breath.

"Same thing for you two!" said Kakashi happily as he appeared beside Asuma pointing at Sasuke and Sakura.

"Good." Agreed Sasuke with a smirk.

"Oh! Also Sakura you will apprenticing with Tsunade for the next three years. During that time I will be training Sasuke myself." He added as Sakura let out a huge grin in anticipation.

"You too Ino…" added Asuma as Ino looked a little sad, but perked up at that.

"What about us?" asked Kiba as Shino nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry Mutt!" came a whisper as Kiba felt a kunai against his neck. "I will be assisting Kurenai in training your team." Said Anko Mitrashi.

"Strange…Kurenai must trust you a lot to allow you to help us train." Stated Shino as Anko glanced at him.

"Oh you have no idea." She stated seductively as Shino arched his eyebrow in interest.

"Well we begin tomorrow team! Be there at 6:00!" said Asuma cheerfully as he left.

"Damn you guys…" stated Shikamaru as they all laughed.

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"Okay Naruto…what's wrong? You haven't been normal all day!" Hinata asked as she and Naruto finally reached a secluded area far from prying eyes.

Naruto just looked down to the ground unable to look into her pleading eyes. "There is something I need to tell you…" he trailed off.

"What's wrong Naruto…you can tell me anything that 's on your mind." Hinata whispered as she gently grabbed his hand.

"You don't understand…you know I would never do anything to hurt you right? Well you know about the Akatsuki? They are coming for me and I need to get stronger before they arrive." He said as Hinata squeezed his hand in support.

"Naruto…" she breathed out as she began to understand why Naruto was acting the way he was.

"Jiraiya-sensei…he is going to be taking me away from Konoha so that I master my Templar energies and learn to harness the Kyubi alongside the Rinnegan. I don't know how long any of it will take…it could be a year or maybe even five. I don't want to leave you Hinata…these last few months have been the best of my life…you're the reason I fight and I don't want to leave you." Whispered Naruto as he struggled to hold a few tears from falling.

With that in mind he was surprised to feel Hinata hug him as tightly as she could and a few sobs coming from her, but its what she said that truly shocked him. "I love you Naruto…I know you would never do anything to hurt me and that this is extremely important. I don't want to lose you too, but it's your destiny to save this world…I've always known it from the time you saved me from those bullies. That's why I'll wait for you…my feelings will never change Naruto…just promise me that you will come back…for me." She stated as Naruto looked into her shining lavender eyes.

"I promise Hinata…I promise to always be there for you and that I will do everything in my power to keep you and this village safe." Said Naruto as he pulled Hinata close to him and held her tightly afraid to let go.

"Naruto…" she whispered as she snuggled up to the man of her dreams.

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>X<br>"Well this is it Gaki…you sure you don't need to stay any longer?" asked Jiraiya as he glanced at the smiling blonde.

"No its okay Jiraiya Sensei. Everything that needed to be said was said last night." Replied Naruto as he glanced back to the gates of Konoha to see Hinata smiling and waving at him.

"Jeeze…seems like you had a lot of fun last night hehe." Stated Jiraiya with a perverted giggle before he yelled out in pain as Naruto stomped on his foot.

"Shut up Ero-Sennin! We are way to young for that sort of thing!" yelled Naruto with red face caused from a mixture of rage and embarrassment.

"Haha okay, but we might be gone for who knows how long kid. It's going to be quite a interesting situation when we get back." He said as they began to move at a faster pace away from Konoha.

"I'll worry about that then. So what's the first thing we need to do? Are we going to just start out with increasing my speed and strength?" asked Naruto as Jiraiya started laughing. "Hey! What's so funny?"

"Kid before we do any of that we are going to have to improve your chakra control cause it still quite frankly sucks. Then we are going to do that training that Zeratul wants you to do. I'm sure he will put you through the ringer, along with that I will be teaching some important techniques to know and begin your training on harnessing Natural Chakra. Then I have a plan to help you with controlling the Fox's Chakra and I'm not sure how you're going to feel about it." Explained Jiraiya as Naruto cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

"I'm sure it can't be too bad as long as I master Kurama's chakra." Replied Naruto as Jiraiya shook his head.

"Well I was able to use some of my political favors in Kumo to have Killer Bee train you. However, the Raikage demands that he and one of his advisors oversee the training." Stated Jiraiya as Naruto looked at him in shock and anger.

"What! I don't mind Bee and all, but the Raikage? That's the bastard who tried to take Hinata during the Chuunin exams and why would he even allow something like that?" asked Naruto in confusion.

"Apparently Kumo wants and alliance with Konoha once more…don't really know too much about it. If I had to guess it would have to be about Akatsuki and Iwa. Then there is the fact that the Raikage owes me for a few favors I did for him in the past." Explained Jiraiya as Naruto reluctantly nodded.

"As long as he doesn't mention anything about his nephew or Hinata then there shouldn't be a problem." Muttered Naruto as Jiraiya nodded.

"Didn't expect any less of you kid." Stated Jiraiya.

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>X<br>"So why are we here again Zeratul?" asked Naruto as he looked at the desolate mountain peak that Jiraiya and him had traveled to. Zeratul had told them to find a secluded mountain range as far away from civilization to master the Templar powers.

"**You have already begun to master the Void young one, but the Khalai is much more different and requires an entirely new discipline to use. However, many of the powers of the Khalai are unpredictable and quite deadly so we are here to minimize collateral damage. Then there has only ever been one Protoss besides me that has ever used a combination of both the Khalai and the Void. When I am through with you I expect you to have surpassed me." **Stated Zeratul as he walked before Naruto.

Now some of you might be wondering how Zeratul is before Naruto in the real world. Well thanks to his mastery of the Void, Zeratul was able to force his will upon Naruto's shadow and take form from it. "Well how would we do that?"

"**Not now young one…now you shall show me just how far you are willing to go to learn."** Stated Zeratul as he activated his warp blade and swung at Naruto, who narrowly dodged by flipping back.

"What the hell Zeratul! You nearly took my head off!" Shouted Naruto, as he continued to do his best to avoid the quick Protoss. "Fine! If that's how its going to be!"

Naruto activated his Warp Blade and engaged Zeratul himself with glowing sparks surrounding each other as their blades made contact with each other. "**I don't care to see your mastery of the Warp Blade Naruto! Use the Void and fight me!" **

With that Zeratul burst apart into shadows and Naruto jumped back to get clear of the shadows. Naruto glanced back and forth with narrowed eyes waiting for Zeratul to show himself. Suddenly Naruto burst into shadows as Zeratul reappeared with his warp blade at the location of where Naruto's kidney would be if he hadn't moved.

What followed next was perhaps one of Naruto's strangest battles to date as both Zeratul and Naruto used blink and a variety of other techniques to attack eachother. It all came to a resounding end as Naruto finally made a hit on Zeratul.

"Gotcha Zeratul!" exclaimed Naruto as Zeratul just stared at Naruto.

"**Did you now?"** Zeratul asked in amusement as he suddenly exploded in a bright blue light.

"What the hell?" asked Naruto as he suddenly felt the heat of a warp blade pressed closely to his neck.

"**Never get cocky Naruto. You may be strong, but there will always be those that are stronger than you out there." **Stated Zeratul as Naruto looked at him in confusion.

"But how did you do that? I haven't seen a clone technique like that and I didn't even see you make it?" asked Naruto in confusion as Zeratul removed the blade.

"Kid you are skilled in all, but you have to realize that others have experience far above you. Remember you have yet to see all the powers that these Khalai Protoss were able to use so you only focused on Zeratul using the Void. Thus you were unable to sense him using a the Khalai to fight you." Explained Jiraiya as he jumped down next to Zeratul.

"So everything I learned to wield the Void is useless in learning the Khalai?" asked Naruto as Zeratul nodded.

"**Exactly…so for however long it takes you will be learning how to wield the Khalai. When you have free time Jiraiya will be teaching you how to harness Natural Chakra to be used with the Toads. Now prepare yourself Naruto." **With that Zeratul disappeared again and began to attack Naruto.  
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2 YEARS LATER

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>"Don't worry Kid! If things get out of hand then I will just ensure the Seal holds. I'm not a seal master for nothing!" exclaimed Jiraiya as Naruto and Killer Bee looked at Jiraiya as if he were an idiot.<p>

"Didn't you hear what Bee said! If I fail then this room is the only thing that will be able to hold back Kurama's chakra. We may get along better now a days, but he still doesn't want me to take his chakra!" retorted Naruto as Jiraiya looked away and sighed.

"Okay Naruto…I just don't want you doing this. Mastering the Kyubi's chakra isn't worth losing you to it's power." Stated Jiraiya sadly.

"Yo, there be nothing to worry about Gramps! Naruto here is going to show who the Kyubi whose the man!" exclaimed Bee as Naruto smiled slightly.

"His name is Kurama…I don't like calling him anything but his name. It is disrespectful to call him anything less. The Bijuu are beings themselves and were never meant to be used the way they are. If it were in my power to release Kurama I would…but it would kill me in the process. Okay…what do I need to do Bee-Sensei?" asked Naruto.

"All you've got to do is meditate on the floor young Grasshopper! The room will do the rest and send you into your mindscape to confront Kurama." Shouted Bee as Naruto grimaced at the name Bee had called him.

"Stop calling me that!" Yelled Naruto as Jiraiya chuckled.

"Come on brat…stop messing around and get this over with. I may not agree with this decision, but I know if anyone can do this than it would be you. Are you sure there is nothing I can do to help?" asked Jiraiya hopefully.

"No…however, any Bijuu or Jinchurriki can use the room so I will be able to help you Grasshopper. It's just that I'm not sure how well we and the Ox will be able to do against a full powered Kurama." Stated Bee as Naruto nodded with a determined look on his face.

"It's okay…I'm ready for this." With that Naruto sat down cross legged and began to clear his mind. "Trust me guys…"

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"_**SO YOU HAVE FINALLY COME TO TAKE MY POWER! YOU ARE NO DIFFERENT FROM THE REST OF THE HUMANS! ALWAYS USING US FOR POWER AND AS TOOLS OF WAR! I WILL NOT LET YOU BETRAY ME LIKE SO MANY OTHERS BEFORE ME!" **_Yelled Kyubi as Naruto gazed at it sadly from behind the bars holding it in place. Behind him was the landscape of Auir dark and sad as it was during the battle to destroy the Overmind.

"I'm sorry Kyubi." Naruto looked away before finally looking it in the eyes with fierce determination. "I don't want to do this, but you are leaving me no choice! No matter what you refuse to work with me! What else am I supposed to do? We all know war is approaching and I need to be as strong as possible to save as many as I can!"

"_**FOOL! DO YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT YOU STAND A CHANCE AT ENDING ALL THE WAR IN THE WORLD? HUMANS WILL ALWAYS FIGHT AND THEY WILL ALWAYS KILL OTHERS! YOUR TEACHERS ARE WRONG TO DELUDE YOU WITH SUCH HOPELESS DREAMS! THESE AKATSUCHI ARE ONLY ONE OF THE MANY TERRORS OF THIS WORLD SEEKING ITS DEMISE!"**_ Yelled Kurama in anger as Naruto glared at it!

"I don't care! I don't care what it takes, but I will do all that I can to protect the village and those I care about! Even if I have to get rid of all the war and hate in the world! I won't stop no matter what you or anyone else says cause my name is NARUTO UZUMAKI NAMIKAZE…BELIEVE IT!" yelled Naruto as he began to walk towards the gate as Bee and Zeratul watched Naruto with pride in their eyes.

'Hinata…this is for you and all my friends! I will finally have the power to protect all of you from the horrors of this world!' thought Naruto as he began to ascend to where the Kyubi's seal lay.

"_**YOU ARE BRAVE NARUTO…PERHAPS YOU MAY THE ONLY HUMAN I HAVE EVER RESPECTED. REMOVE THE SEAL AND WE SHALL SEE WHAT IS STRONGER…MY RAGE AT THOSE WHO USE ME OR YOUR WILL TO PROTECT THOSE CLOSE TO YOU." **_ Stated the Kyubi as Naruto stared at it in the eyes before nodding at the challenge.

"So be it Kurama." Naruto then began to unpeel the seal, but he was suddenly tackled by a yellow blur that sent him flying to the ground.

"Well I'm surprised to be here so soon! I thought it would take more time for the seal to weaken this badly." Stated a cool voice as Naruto looked up to see one of the biggest shocks of his life.

"Dad?" asked Naruto hopefully as the newly revealed Minato Namikaze smiled at his son.

"Naruto…you've grown to be quite the young man! Last time I saw you, you were but a few hours old." Laughed Minato as tears began to leak from his eyes.

"_**YOU…MINATO NAMIKAZE…I HAVE A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU! RELEASE THIS SEAL SO THAT I CAN FEAST UPON YOUR FLESH!" **_Roared Kurama as it slammed itself into the cage.

"Kyubi! I'd like to say it is a pleasure, but we both know I was lying. Why don't we continue this conversation in a more private place Naruto?" asked Minato as Naruto shook his head.

"No…Kurama deserves to hear all of this too. So does Bee and Zeratul Senseis." Stated Naruto as he gestured to the two people standing about 30 meters away.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you the Jinchuriki of the 8-tails and what are you? I've never seen anything like you…are you a new bloodline or something?" asked Minato as the two approached Naruto and Minato.

"It's a pleasure to see you in such a place, Yo! I never expected Naruto bro to have been your son Minato!" shouted Bee as he raised his hands in the air.

"Yeah…" sweatdropped Minato as he looked at Naruto who just shook his head in response.

"He is helping me…we were going to confront Kurama until you showed up. Bee and Zeratul were going to help me." Explained Naruto as Minato stared at Zeratul.

"And you are?" asked Minato as he stared at Zeratul.

"**My name is Zeratul of the Dark Templar. Naruto absorbed my soul and I have been teaching him the ways of my people for the past few months. He is quite the gifted Ninja and has proven himself in many battles since I joined him on his journey.**" Stated Zeratul as Minato looked at his son with pride shining in his eyes.

"Have you now? I wish I could hear all those stories, but my chakra is quickly running out Naruto. I don't have much time and I have to tell you something before I disappear." Stated Minato as Naruto looked down sadly.

"Do you have to go so soon? I've…I've always wanted to talk to you…" whispered Naruto as he felt a hand on his head. He looked up and saw Minato stared at him directly into his eyes with a small smile.

"Naruto…no matter what even if I do disappear I will always be looking over you. The day you were born was the happiest day of both your mother's and my life. When I held you I knew that you would be a great ninja and I would always be proud to be your father. However, that was when he struck against your mother and I." stated Minato somberly, as Bee, Naruto, and Zeratul looked at him in confusion.

"What? Who did what?" asked Naruto as Minato looked at him sadly.

"You see Naruto, you are not the first to have ever held Kyubi. Your mother was also the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi, Kushina Uzumaki…the women I love. Now during a Jinchuriki's pregnancy, the seal holding the beast in the person is weakened considerably and the beast can escape. So we hid Kushina in a secret location so I could ensure the seal held." Stated Minato as Naruto nodded.

"So how did this man find you then? I'm sure that not many people knew that Mom was Kurama's Jinchuriki. So how did this man find Mom and you then?" asked Naruto.

"I still do not know how he found our location or how he breached the barrier that prevented people from detecting the Kyubi's chakra. However, this man was able to find us and he killed the people guarding us and stole you from your mother and I. He wore black robes and a spiral orange mask with a single Sharingan eye showing. He was able to separate me from your mother and release the Kyubi before I could stop him. During the battle I realized that only one Uchiha could have the power to do what he did and that was Madara Uchiha…the same one who betrayed the village and battled the Hashirama Senju." Stated Minato to the shock of everyone in the room besides the Kyubi.

"But how is he still alive? That was so many years ago!" shouted Bee in surprise. He was so surprised that he even forgot to act in his normal fashion.

"I never found out. I defeated him after a short battle that left him defeated, your mother and I were able to seal the Kyubi into you at the cost of our lives." Explained Minato as Naruto looked down in sadness. "Now don't be sad son…your mother and I gladly gave our lives to save you. You carry the will of two of the strongest shinobi of our time. Jiraiya used to tell me that I would be the Child of Prophecy that would bring peace to the world, but I believe that that child is truly you my Son."

"Me? But how do you know that I'll be able to do it?" asked Naruto in surprise.

"Come on Naruto…I know that this is what you want yourself. Nothing has changed except you now having a prophecy hanging over your shoulder." Laughed Minato as Naruto blushed.

"How though? I used to be so alone in the village. I was ignored by everyone and only recently have I gained acceptance and love from my precious people. That's why I'm training now…as long as there is war they will never be safe so I'm going to end all war and suffering!" proclaimed Naruto with conviction.

"I can't help but believe you will Naruto….it's time. My time limit is running out…" stated Minato sadly as Naruto looked at him sharply as tears fell from his eyes.

"But you just got here! You can't leave me like this!" Cried out Naruto as he hugged his father.

"It's okay Naruto…I know you will make me proud. I want you to remember though…I will always love you as will your mother." Stated Minato sadly as he hugged Naruto back. It was then that he felt a hand land on his shoulder.

"**It is not your time to leave Minato Namikaze. Take some of my essence…this will allow you to last for a whole day instead of a few minutes. We could use some help in this upcoming battle." ** Stated Zeratul as Minato was filled with a powerful energy.

"But how?" asked Minato and Naruto at once.

"**The Void can do many things. You have, despite being extremely skilled, only began to skim the surface of all that you can do.**" Explained Zeratul as Naruto nodded in thanks.

"Thank you Zeratul-Sensei!" cried out Naruto.

"Yes…thank you…now I believe we have a job to do. I always hoped that I would be able to fight alongside my son one day." Stated Minato with a smirk as Naruto nodded.

"HAI!" cried out Naruto as he ran towards the seal.

"_**THIS CHANGES NOTHING NARUTO…I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY MORTALS LIKE YOU!"**_ yelled Kyubi as Naruto grabbed ahold of the seal.

"Bring it on Kurama! Nothing is going to stop me now!" yelled Naruto with conviction as he ripped off the seal and a powerful burst of energy shot him away from the roaring Kyubi.

"Quick! We have to attack his weak points and subdue him so that Naruto can wrestle away the Kyubi's chakra!" yelled Bee as Minato and Zeratul nodded.

Minato acted quickly and threw many of the his special kunai at the surrounding area and disappeared as one of Kurama's tails smashed into the area he had been standing.

Naruto and Zeratul blinked away as the many more of Kurama's tails tried to crush the smaller people. Bee was able to gain an advantage as he turned into Gyuki and used his tentacles to wrestle with the Kyubi.

"Odama Rasengan!" yelled Minato as he appeared above a Kurama and landed the attack directly into it's back, sending it crashing into the ground.

"Shinra Tensei!" yelled Naruto as his Rinnegan sprang to life and the Kurama was launched back to the cage with a large amount of force! "Zeratul! Blind him!"

Zeratul blinked right in front of the stunned Kurama and used his Warp Blade to blind the right eye of the Kyubi before it could react. Kurama roared with anger as it suddenly began to gather a very large amount of chakra in it's mouth.

"The Tailed Beast Ball! Quickly everyone take cover!" yelled Bee as it rushed to match the power of Kurama's attack. They both launched at once and the two attacks struggled for dominance, but Bee felt his attack shudder before giving way to the more powerful Bijuu. In one instant Bee was literally thrown from the fight and out of Naruto's mind.

"BEE!" yelled Naruto as he was forced to dodge a claw coming from a recovered Kurama.

"_**I AM YOUR OPPONENT BRAT! FOCUS ON ME!" **_yelled Kurama in rage as it began effectively battle all three remaining fighters with Naruto only able to control a small amount of it's chakra.

"Zeratul! I have a plan! Dad I need you get Kurama away from us so I can use my most powerful attack on it!" yelled Naruto as Minato nodded.

"Right!" yelled Minato as he disappeared once more and landed on Kurama's back before he activated a seal and the two were suddenly a kilometer away from Zeratul and Naruto.

"I need energy for this attack Zeratul!" stated Naruto as Zeratul nodded and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Good luck Naruto…" stated Zeratul as Naruto began to glow with blue energy.

"This is it! PSIONIC STORM!" Yelled Naruto as he unleashed a powerful storm of psionic energy upon Kurama, who roared in pain as the bolts of energy ravaged his body. No matter what the great fox did, he was unable to defend himself from the powerful attack.

"Naruto! Now while it is weakened! Take all of its chakra!" yelled Minato as Naruto nodded and began to take over Kurama's chakra. Naruto slowly pulled the chakra from Kyubi's body, but suddenly Kurama looked up and glared at Naruto while his body still healed.

"_**YOU WANT MY CHAKRA? THEN TAKE ALL OF IT! THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE RAGE THAT I FEEL AT THOSE WHO USE MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS!**_" Yelled Kurama as Naruto was suddenly overcome by a great rage originating from Kurama's chakra.

"AHHHHHH!" yelled Naruto as his body was slowly overcome by Kurama's evil crimson chakra cloak.

"Naruto! You have to fight it! You can do it my so! Think of all those that are depending on you, those that love you!" yelled Minato as the crimson cloak halted as half the cloak covered Naruto's body.

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Inside Naruto's conscious

"DEMON! I DON'T WANT YOU SHOPPING HERE! YOU ARE SCARING AWAY ALL MY CUSTOMERS!"

"Stay away from him! He is dangerous!"

"Yes Father!"

"Why can't you just be more like Sasuke?"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

"Why would they let that thing live in the first place!"

"Thank god that thing didn't pass! Could you imagine if it had become a ninja?"

These are just a few of the sentences running through Naruto's mind as Kurama's chakra ran through his system. 'Why? Will these ever change…? Is it all just a lie." Thought Naruto as he was suddenly engulfed in a warm light.

Suddenly the faces of all his friends shone through the light showing their smiling faces. Memories from times they had trained together and just hung out. The last one to show was Hinata from when they went on their first mission together, how they fought together, the forest of Death, and their first kiss.

"It seems like my little Naru has himself a girlfriend." Stated a sweet voice as Naruto was knocked from his thoughts. He turned around and was greeted by the sight of a beautiful red head lady.

"What?" asked Naruto in surprise as the women giggled.

"It's no surprise you wouldn't recognize me Naru! Afterall you haven't seen me since the day you were born so many years ago!" she stated with a smile as Naruto's eyes widened considerably.

"Mom?" he asked hesitantly as she nodded with a smile. "MOM!" yelled Naruto as he grabbed the older women in a tight hug as she returned it just as fiercly.

"This has been one of the best days of my life! I first go to meet dad and now I'm able to hug my mom!" he yelled as Kushina smiled.

"So I see your trying to master the Kyubi's chakra Naru. I never had the drive to do so…that fox was nothing but trouble and I didn't want anything to do with him." She stated after a few minutes.

"Kurama isn't so bad! He's just been used so many times by humans that he has nothing but hate for us! I don't want to control him…I want to work with him, but he doesn't believe me! So I'll show him that I will not just only use him for my own selfish purposes!" proclaimed Naruto.

"His name is Kurama? I just always assumed his name was Kyubi…I guess that's one of the reasons he never liked me." Stated Kushina sadly, but then she perked up. "So you said you met your father earlier?"

"Yeah! He left some chakra in the seal to prevent Kurama from escaping! My sensei was able to do a jutsu that allows him to continue fighting alongside me against Kurama! I just don't know how you're here though?" asked Naruto curiously.

"I guess your father had the same idea I did. I knew you would one day harness the Ky…Kurama's chakra and that its hate might overcome you so I put some chakra in your seal to ensure that never happens." Stated Kushina as Naruto smiled.

"Man! Both my parents are so smart and awesome!" exclaimed Naruto as Kushina blushed from Naruto's praise. "I guess we have to go! Zeratul-sensei should be able to do the same thing he did to dad!"

"Sounds like a good idea…I'm just glad that I'm going to be able to see Minato once again." Stated Kushina as the two began to fade from view.

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"_**IT MATTERS LITTLE! YOU WON'T BE GETTING A HIT LIKE THAT IN AGAIN!"**_ Yelled Kurama as it finally finished healing and roared at Naruto before it was suddenly wrapped in glowing chains.

"No…Kushina?" whispered Minato as he stared at the origin of the glowing chains.

"It's nice to see you Minato…my love." Stated Kushina with a smile. "Let's help our son and we can talk afterwards!"

"_**I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY YOU AND ENSLAVED!**_" Yelled Kurama as it ripped through a couple of chains in rage. Suddenly shadows wrapped around Kurama as Naruto and Zeratul contributed their powers to restrain him.

"I got this!" yelled Naruto as his eyes switched to his Rinnegan and he began to extract the chakra from Kurama in a massive tug of war that would decide who would win.

"_**NOOOO!"**_ yelled Kurama as it began to gather it's power for a Tailed Beast Ball and fired it directly at Naruto.

"I WON'T FAIL KURAMA!" yelled Naruto extended his arms and gathered as much chakra as he could afford into his next jutsu. "SHINRA TENSEI!"

Kurama's Tailed Beast Ball connected with Naruto's Force of Gravity and the two forces collided with a massive shockwave. Naruto found himself being pushed back by Kurama's last attack and looked at the concerned faces of his mother and father.

However, it was the face of Hinata, that popped up into his mind that struck him the hardest. It was her smiling as the two sat on the Heads of Hokage before he left the village for his training trip. 'I won't give up! This is for everyone that cares for me and those that I care about!'

Naruto dug deep into his chakra as his Rinnegan eyes grew darker as he summoned more and more chakra to his hands. "I WON'T FAIL NOW!"

With that the Tailed Beast Ball shot into the air far above any of the combatants and exploded in such a bright light that they were all blinded temporarily. "NOW!" yelled Naruto as he pulled the last vestiges of Kurama's chakra and cut the connection with the now sickly looking Bijuu.

"I'm sorry Kurama." Muttered Naruto as he passed out in his mind. The last vision he saw were the concerned looks his parents sported as they rushed over to him.  
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>Well I'm so sorry for the extremely long wait...I've been busy and I lost interest in this story, but some very good stories have revitalized my love for writing these stories! So expect some more updates in the coming weeks!<p> 


	14. Naruto's Drive

Right back at you guys with a new chapter! Thanks all of you guys who continue to read my story and review it! I try to take all of your reviews to heart to make this story better in any way possible!

So here is the beginning of the Shipudden Arc and the part in which canon is going to take a back seat as I don't think I need Shipudden to last so long considering the fact that Naruto is much stronger now than he was in the canon at this point.

XXXX CAN ANYONE MAKE ME A COVER FOR THIS STORY? CAUSE THAT WOULD BE AWESOME! XXXXX

SPOILERS ON THIS PAGE

So let's get to it then!

**Naruto's Drive**

"You have your mission…Itachi I want this to go down with out a hitch. The Kyubi Jinchuriki is much too powerful to allow to grow any more. Kisame and you are going to take Deidara and Sasori to subdue it in any way you think is needed." Stated a large orange haired man with multiple piercings and glowing purple ringed eyes.

This man was the supposed leader of the Akatsuki, whose dreams of peace had been corrupted by many years of war and loss that succeeded in twisting his views. Now he was but a shell of his former self being manipulated by who he believed to be Madara Uchiha…the founder of the great Uchiha Clan.

However the truth was much grander as Madara Uchiha had been dead for many years now just waiting for the perfect moment in which Pain would sacrifice his life to bring back the now dead legend. The one to ensure this was the Madara imposter once known as (Spoiler) Obito Uchiha, former loyal ninja of Konoha.

Obito was not always the way he was…he once had dreams of being the Hokage of Konoha, but his dreams were shattered the day he watched his love die brutally by the hands of his best friend. From that day on he had sold his heart to Madara's plan to ensure their will upon the world.

He stood in the shadows watching as Pain ordered around the members of the Akatsuki to do HIS bidding. Only a few of them knew the truth…the rest were expendable pawns that were on a need to know basis when it came to the truth. No most only needed the money that they were being paid to ensure their loyalty to Akatsuki's cause.

Soon all of the Tailed Beasts would be under his control and the Eye of the Moon plane would be commenced. The day the rest of the world no longer would feel pain due to his ultimate genjutsu to mold the world into what ever he wished.

Beside him was one of the few members of the Akatsuki who knew he claimed to be Madara Uchiha and she was also the only one who could perhaps still sway Pain away from his plan. He would've gotten rid of her long ago if it wasn't so risky. She had always believed he would betray Nagato for his own goals…not that she was wrong or anything.

"They will have trouble securing the Kyubi's container…he is quite the powerful ninja by what Zetsu has told us over the years." Stated Konan as Madara looked at her with his single visible eye.

"They are four of the most powerful members of the Akatsuki that will be leading this attack. Although that isn't the only trump card I have in play…I have secured Orochimaru's aid in this endeavor in exchange for Sasuke Uchiha's eyes." Stated Tobi…aka Madara…aka Obito.

"Are you sure he will not betray us again?" asked Konan with concern as Pain walked over to the two of them.

"Orochimaru is not stupid…he knows that a war is coming and he would have to pick sides eventually or risk dying later on. He will do this mission to the best of his abilities…besides as long as he gets what he wants then what does it matter?" stated Pain.

"Even so…I suggest that you have other ninja provide back up in case things go sour. We have spent too much time building our strength to lose it all in some gamble." Stated Madara as he began to walk away. "Do not ruin this Nagato…"

With that Tobi warped away in front of their eyes and the two powerful ninja looked at eachother. "I don't trust him Nagato…please don't do this. It still isn't too late to pull out and run." Konan begged as Nagato shook his head.

"This is the only chance to bring peace to the world…the peace that Yahiko wanted. The peace that he entrusted to me with his dying breath. I'm sorry Konan, but this is the only path left to me now." Stated Pain as he walked away leaving a saddened Konan behind.

'Everything has changed…Yahiko.' She thought sadly as she turned away from Pain's retreating form.

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"What's the plan Itachi? Pain saw it fit that you would lead this mission so you better have a good plan." Asked Sasori as Deidara scoffed in apparent contempt of Itachi.

"Hmph! You guys with those freaky eyes are all the same! Caring only for yourselves and leaving anyone else behind, cha! Just allow my art and I to destroy that village and that Jinchuriki will come after us." Yelled Deidara as Itachi glanced at him with disinterest.

"You are a fool Deidara…but a useful fool nonetheless. Sasori and you will be leading an attack on the village to cause as much damage as possible while Kisame and I sneak into the village to retrieve cargo that will ensure the Jinchuriki will come to us." Said Itachi as Deidara actually smiled at this. The explosive user was dying to repay the village for what their Jinchuriki had done to him years ago. He still had the burns to show for it.

"Will that be enough though? Konoha isn't the strongest village for nothing…" stated Sasori as Itachi nodded.

"We have help on it's way…Hidan and Kakuzu are not far away and can get to the village quickly enough if needed. Then Or…" started Itachi, but he was cut off as he was forced to dodge a kunai coming from the undergrowth.

"Kukuku…you are quicker than I remember Itachi." Came a smooth voice as Orochimaru and his assistant, Kabuto, materialized on a large tree branch. I'm so glad that Pain is allowing me to fight alongside my old friends once more."

"Orochimaru…I'm surprised Pain would ever allow you to help us again after what you tried to do last time." Stated Sasori as Orochimaru smiled in response.

"Why yes…you see my job is to ensure that Jiraiya, Tsunade, and to a lesser extent Sasuke Uchiha do not interfere with tracking you down." Stated Orochimaru as Itachi nodded.

"At least for now Orochimaru…just remember that if you betray us I will kill you on the spot." Stated Itachi as Orochimaru nodded.

"Kukuku on that I have no doubt Itachi…" responded Orochimaru as Kabuto and him joined their little group.

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"Today's the day! Let's go Pervy Sage! I want to see my Hinata as soon as possible!" yelled Naruto as Jiraiya grumbled as he tried to swat the annoying blonde away.

"She isn't going anywhere brat! Just give me a few minutes…I'm sure you can wait a few extra minutes to relieve that pressure between your legs!" yelled Jiraiya, before he suddenly was smashed in the head by a powerful fist.

"SHUT UP! That's something private and if we do ever do that and I find you spying on us like you did with my parents I will castrate you!" yelled Naruto as Jiraiya grumbled about brats not appreciating his jokes.

"Oh my your father and you act so much alike sometimes!" laughed Jiraiya as he began to get his stuff around. "So you really want to see her again huh?"

"Not a minute has gone by without me thinking about her. Four years ago I only had two people that treated me normally and now I have so many people that I consider close to me and it all really started with Hinata. When we were together it felt like nothing could ever go wrong…she gave me the strength to do the impossible. That's how much I miss her!" explained Naruto as Jiraiya laughed.

"Yep! You are just like your father! It's almost scary considering the fact that he said basically the same thing when we went on our first training trip together." Said Jiraiya as Naruto smiled.

"Well better not waste time! We still have quite the walk left!" said Naruto as he walked in front of Jiraiya.

Jiraiya smiled at the Blonde as he followed him. 'I know he is the one…the one of prophecy that will bring peace to world. Never have a I met anyone with a drive like his and his power is increasing faster than any other person that has ever existed.'

"Wait up Brat!" he yelled as he ran to catch up to Naruto.

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"Welcome to my ART SHOW! CHA!" yelled out Deidara as he launched a large group of smaller clay birds from atop his ride. The birds flew down detonated amongst a large grouping of buildings and shinobi alike with devastating effect. "This is pathetic if this is all the leaf can do to stop me!"

Deidara continued to rain destruction on the leaf before he was suddenly forced to dodge numerous projectiles coming from another airborne target. "I'm sorry, but I have been instructed to ensure the Leaf isn't attacked in this way." Stated a pale black haired boy with a creepy smile on his face.

"Knock his ass out of the sky Sai!" yelled Kiba as he ran atop a building only 15 meters below the two airborne ninja, with Shikamaru trailing slightly behind.

"Ah! So you think you have a chance against me?" asked Deidara as Kiba and Shikamaru began to throw numerous weapons at him. "Well then die!" With that Deidara launched numerous birds at Sai, Kiba, and Shikamaru as the three ninja dodged to the best of their abilities.

While Deidara was causing as much destruction as possible, Sasori had released his army of over 100 puppets and was at war with a large number of Leaf Shinobi. Many were being lost as his quick puppets worked in perfect tandem and slaughtered many of them.

Sasori watched with satisfaction as a squad of ninja were quickly overwhelmed by a group of his puppets. "I'm quite disappointed…there may not even be any ninja worth turning into my art in this whole village."

His musing were interrupted as large battlecry as a group of three puppets were suddenly smashed to pieces by a spinning pair of green blurs. "Yosh! We will stop you from destroying our village Akatsuki!" yelled Maito Gai as Lee yelled in confirmation.

"Honestly! Do you two always have to be so loud!" yelled Sakura as she landed between the two while cracking her knuckles.

"Of course Dear Sakura! We must announce our flames of Youth before we do battle with this unyouthful man!" yelled Lee as Sasori's puppet stared at them with his large blank eyes.

"You think you can stand against me? I am Sasori of the Red Sands…I have conquered entire countries and you think you three can defeat me?" asked Sasori with barely restrained contempt.

"Yosh! Let's show this guy the true power of the Flames of Youth!" shouted Lee as he charged at Sasori with Gai right beside him and Sakura bringing up the rear.

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>X<br>X  
>X<p>

"Who are we going after Itachi?" asked Kisame as the two easily made their way past a group of distracted enemy ninja.

"Naruto Uzumaki formed a relationship with the Heir of the Hyuga Clan Hinata Hyuga. If we can secure her then Naruto will come after us without a plan and will be easy pickings for us." Stated Itachi as Kisame nodded.

"So we are going to attack the Hyuga Compound to get this girl? I didn't know villages allowed their Jinchuriki to do things like form relationships?" stated Kisame as Itachi nodded.

"For most villages that would be true, but Kumo and Konoha are a bit different than the others. Kumo treats their Jinchuriki with respect and admiration while Naruto here is the son of this villages hero….the same could be said for Suna. Don't worry about the Hyuga Compound…Orochimaru has already sent a large contingent of Sound Shinobi at them as we speak." Explained Itachi as a series of explosions signaled the start of Sound attacking the Compound.

"We must move now…" with that Itachi and Kisame sprinted ahead.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<br>"Damn those Akatsuki!" yelled Tsunade as she geared up in her armor and exited the Hokage's tower flanked by her personal ANBU.

"Kukuku Tsunade…it's so nice to see you once more! However, I wish the circumstances were a bit better than what they are now…" stated Orochimaru as he phased up from the ground and smiled at his former teammate.

"Orochimaru…I should've known you would assist the Akatsuki in attacking my village. Why are they here? Naruto hasn't been in the village for several years now…what do they hope to gain by attacking now?" asked Tsunade as she fought to control her rage.

"Oh there just here to lure that brat to the village so they can do their thing. I'm just here for Sasuke…but I can have him as soon as I am done with this village kukuku." Laughed out Orochimaru as he pulled out the sword of Kusanagi.

"Stay out of this…he is mine." Declared Tsunade as her fist became infused with Chakra.

"Tsunade-sama! We are your guards…we can't just leave you to deal with him alone!" shouted a purple haired ANBU.

"Go help the village…this is my own fight to handle!" ordered Tsunade as he ANBU nodded and leaped towards the area Sasori was fighting.

"You seem pretty confident Tsunade…is there anything I should know?" asked Orochimaru as he slid into his stance.

"Just that I'm going to repaint my village with your blood…" stated Tsunade as she charged at Orochimaru quicker than he expected, and it was only due to his flexibility that he was able to avoid the bone crushing punch.

Tsunade didn't let up and continued to rain punches down at Orochimaru, who was barely able to dodge the punches. However, he couldn't dodge them all and he caught a powerful hook right across the face that sent him flying into a building. Although that Orochimaru was suddenly turned into mud as Tsunade dodged under a swipe from Kusanagi.

"My you have gotten stronger Tsunade! You actually almost had me with that last one!" laughed Orochimaru as he continued to hit Tsunade with Kusanagi.

"You won't win Orochimaru! The leaf will stand no matter what and Naruto will beat you all out of the village!" declared Tsunade as she caught Kusanagi in her hands to Orochimaru's surprise.

"How?" he asked.

"Easy! My Will is stronger than this sword of yours!" she yelled as she punched Orochimaru in the gut.

"I'll get you for that Tsunade…" hissed Orochimaru as he stood up again.

"You can try…" she mocked him as she resumed her stance as he charged at her.  
>X<br>X  
>X<br>X

"Hinata! Are you okay?" asked Neji as he jumped down beside his cousin, who was standing around the bodies of 1 jounin and 2 chuunin from Sound.

"I'm fine Neji…the training that I have been taking with Tsunade and Anko Sensei have really helped me over the past three years. What's the situation around the compound?" she asked as Neji began to explain.

Hinata had changed over the past three years and was no longer the same shy girl she used to be. She now wore a full body black spandex suit with a tight lavender vest covering her chest and a lavender skirt that barely covered anything.

This new outfit of hers caused many guys in the village to stare at her in lust and many men approached her with offers ranging from marriage to just a date. All of which she refused as her heart still belonged to Naruto.

Her outfit was the only thing that changed about her. She now was much more outgoing and presented her opinion quite regularly and wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. This showed when the elders in her clan tried to order he around…what followed was perhaps the biggest beating any of those men had ever encountered.

Even so with all these changes she still wasn't quite strong enough to beat a S-Rank ninja despite her tremendous improvement over the past three years. However, one could easily argue that she could stand on even ground with both Neji and Sasuke, and usually win against Neji, who were without a doubt the strongest of their generation…behind Naruto.

She was interrupted in her musings as she spotted a group of Kunai heading at Neji at a high speed. "Neji get down!" she yelled just in time as Neji spun out of the Kunai's direction.

"Look's like we found our target Itachi…and my is she quite the looker." Stated a menacing voice from the darkness of the night before a large figure wearing Akatsuki robes stepped out.

"Kisame Hoshigaki…Monster of the Hidden Mist…and one of the Akatsuki." Stated Neji as he and Hinata got into their stances.

"So you've heard of me have you? Then I'm also pretty sure you know of my partner…of course you do." Stated Kisame with a toothy smile as Itachi walked up beside Kisame.

"Hinata Hyuga…come with us and we will leave your village alone." Offered Itachi as Hinata glared at him as her lavender eyes shone with rage.

"Itachi Uchiha!" she spat the name with disgust. "What you did last time you were here is completely inexcusable! If you want me then you're going to have to beat me!"

"Very well…it seems my information on you was incorrect. No matter the two of you are no match for the two of us." Stated Itachi, but before he could do much a fuma shuriken bisected him in half. The two halves though burst into a flock of crows that reformed a little ways off.

"Hello…Sasuke." Stated Itachi passively as Sasuke landed beside Neji and Hinata.

"Itachi…I'm going to enjoy this greatly. I've been waiting for Naruto to return to the village so we could track you down together…but this works just fine for me." Stated Sasuke as he drew a ninjato that was given to him by Kakashi a few years back.

"You can try foolish little brother…but I didn't come to play games with you. I came for Hinata Hyuga and that is all." Stated Itachi as Sasuke stepped in front of Hinata.

"If you want Hinata, you're going to have to go through my dead body!" declared Sasuke as electricity began to flow through his Ninjato.

"I'm sorry Sasuke, but I will not be your opponent today. Kabuto has his own orders to take you to Orochimaru while we complete ours." Stated Itachi as he Sasuke jumped back away from a glowing hand sticking out of the ground.

"Well hello Sasuke…it has been quite some time since we've seen eachother. Why don't you save me the trouble and just surrender to Orochimaru? I'm sure he can help you with taking down your brother." Stated Kabuto as Sasuke's Sharingan activated and he glared deeply at Kabuto.

"I don't need your bosses help! Get out of my way or I will strike you down Kabuto!" growled out Sasuke as Kabuto just smirked in response.

"Then come at me Sasuke!" declared Kabuto as Sasuke charged at him.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<br>"Now that my brother is gone Kisame and I will be taking Hinata now." Stated Itachi, but Neji stepped in front of Hinata as he took his stance.

"Don't even try it." Stated Neji, as a large buzzing noise was heard as Shino landed beside Neji.

"Hinata…Neji…it seems my bugs were right when they sensed a malicious chakra heading in your direction." Stated Shino.

"Shino!" Hinata shouted in joy at her old friend that she hadn't seen in a year. Shino had left the village a year ago with his father to go on an extended training trip to get stronger. It was supposed to last two years, but apparently it was ended early with Shino coming to help her.

"More of them just keep popping up Itachi! Let me handle these two…take the girl and get going! We don't have much time left!" declared Itachi as he charged at Neji and Shino.

Shino quickly released a swarm of bugs that flew at Kisame, but he just raised Samehada above his head smashed it into the swarm of bugs, scattering them slightly. He continued on through the scattered swarm only to be met by Neji who began to launch Jyuken strikes at him.

Kisame avoided the strikes and swung Samehada down on Neji, but he rolled underneath the strike and lashed out at Kisame's leg and connected, causing the large man to stumble slightly.

Kisame continued to attempt to land hits on Neji, but a combination between Shino at mid-range and Neji's short range taijutsu skill were barely able to keep the Akatsuki nin at bay.

"You little pests! Stand still!" yelled Itachi as he finally kicked Neji away from him and attacked Shino, who was surprised by Kisame's sudden speed, and received a blow to the chest from a wrapped Samehada.

"Shino!" yelled Neji as he launched a few long range blasts at Kisame, but Samehada blocked and absorbed all the chakra in the attacks. "Damn you…"

"You're a bit too young to take on the likes of me Hyuga…now let's finish this!" yelled Kisame as he shot a water dragon out of his mouth at Neji.

"Kaiten!" Neji yelled as he spun and released a large amount of chakra to block the dragon.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<p>

"Hinata come with me and I will promise the safety of your friends and village. Resist and I cannot make any promises." Stated Itachi as he drew a kunai and stalked over to the determined Hinata.

"Last time you came to the village you caused Naruto so much pain. Now I'm going to repay you that favor…" stated Hinata as she quickly charged Itachi to his surprise. She began to attack him with a ferocity in which none had ever seen of her before.

However, Itachi Uchiha wasn't an S-Rank ninja for nothing and many believed him to be stronger than everyone of the Sannin including Jiraiya. So with some difficulty he avoided strike after strike from Hinata. "This is pointless Hinata…why even try and struggle when you know that you will fail?"

"I'm not giving up! That is my Ninja way!" she yelled out as she increased her speed greatly and landed a palm strike to Itachi's chest before he could react. Itachi's eyes widened as he jumped away from Hinata as he lightly held his chest. "Naruto would never want me to give up and I won't fail him!"

Hinata charged at Itachi again, but by then he had recovered and activated his Sharingan and was on the attack himself. She quickly found herself outmatched against Itachi.

She jumped back and glared at Itachi as blue chakra began to glow around her hands that formed into the shape of two lions heads. "Interesting…" muttered Itachi as he was suddenly struck in the gut by Hinata.

'Her speed has increased greatly!' he though as he recovered and shot series of fireballs at her, but she weaved through the fireballs and continued on to Itachi. Itachi, knowing he couldn't afford to get hit in the gut again just did his best to dodge her attacks.

However, he wasn't entirely successful as Hinata swept his feet out from underneath him. She twisted her body up and slammed her fist into his face, sending him into the ground with large shockwave from the impact.

Hinata though wasn't surprised when Itachi's battered body was suddenly replaced with a smashed log and it was just that that allowed her to barely avoid a large glowing fist.

"I truly am impressed Hyuga…not many could force me to use Susanoo this early in a fight. But you must have improved quite a bit to have gotten to this level so early. Tell me…does your strength come from Naruto?" asked Itachi as he stared at her with his bleeding Magyenko Sharingan eyes.

"Yes it does…that's why you won't be taking me?" growled Hinata as she stared right back at him with her Byakugan eyes. Her determined stare did nothing to scare Itachi as he just smirked at her slightly.

"You are strong…but you have already lost." Stated Itachi as his Sharingan began to spin.

"What?" she asked as her world was suddenly overcome with darkness. "How?"

"How? How were I able to put a genjutsu on you despite the use of your Byakugan? It has taken me some time to perfect my art to the point of defeating those eyes of yours. Now you are stuck in my world…" suddenly Hinata found herself pinned against a cross looking over Konoha.

"For the next three days you will watch as the beast that you love kills the village." Stated Itachi as Hinata watched as a Kyubified Naruto began to kill everyone in the village. However, all her attention was focused upon Itachi.

"Strange…does it not pain you to see your love kill so many innocents and lose control?" asked Itachi, but Hinata just spat in his face.

"Naruto would never lose control…never!" she retorted with confidence.

"I guess I will just have to do this the hard way…" sighed Itachi as he suddenly stabbed Hinata in the ribs, causing her to cry out in pain.

'How? This is just a genjutsu! How can it hurt so much!' she cried out in her mind as she felt more and more pierce her at various locations.

"Only 2 days and 23 hours, and 59 minutes to go." Stated Itachi as Hinata tried her best to glare at Itachi.

"I won't break…do your worst!" she growled as it began again.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<br>In the real word Shino and Neji could only watch in horror as Hinata fell right before their eyes due to the Sharingan.

"Hinata!" yelled Neji as he rushed towards his cousin, but he was sent flying by Susanoo. Shino was the next to attempt to reach Hinata, but he was sent into a building by Kisame that took him out of the fight.

"Grab her Kisame…we are leaving now." Stated Itachi as Kisame grabbed Hinata and the two made their way for the exit of the village.

"Hinata!" yelled Sasuke as he tried to get to his friend, but Kabuto blocked his way once again.

"I'm sorry Sasuke, but I need you to stay here." Stated Kabuto as he tried to incapacitate Sasuke with his chakra scapels. However Sasuke just caught his wrist and threw Kabuto over his shoulder into a tree.

"You won't take me Kabuto! I will never go to Orochimaru!" yelled Sasuke as he tried to stab him with his Chidori, but Kabuto merged with the tree and avoided the attack.

"Too slow Sasuke! Orochimaru has spent the past three years ensuring that I am stronger than you." Stated Kabuto as he began to engage Sasuke again. However, their fight was cut short again as a massive blast filled the skies of Konoha and the surrounding forest.

"Your lucky Sasuke…Lord Orochimaru will not want to stick around after something like that. Not to mention I know I don't stand a chance when I'm outnumbered 3 to 1." Stated Kabuto as Shino and Neji landed beside Sasuke. "So until next time…"

Kabuto merged with the ground before Sasuke could do anything to stop him. "Damn! We need to get going! My brother has Hinata!" yelled Sasuke as he turned to pursue Itachi and Kisame, but Shino and Neji blocked his way.

"Sasuke…we need to tell some others. None of us have the chakra to pursue them and we have no idea who we are dealing with or if they will have help." Stated Shino as Sasuke glared at him.

"How can you say that! She is your teammate!" argued Sasuke as Neji stepped up to him.

"She is my cousin too, but I know that alone we will not succeed in rescuing her!" stated Neji as Sasuke glared at the two of them.

"But…fine! Let's find the Hokage right now!" stated Sasuke as he turned and ran to the Hokage's tower. What they found was pure destruction as the battle between Orochimaru had been colossal, as both had resorted to using their strongest summons once more.

Tsunade herself was covered in scratches and bruises and was being tended to by her own personal ANBU. "Lady Tsunade!" Neji called out as he ran up to her.

"Neji? What's wrong?" asked Tsunade as Shino joined them.

"It's Hinata…Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki kidnapped her. We believe they want to use her to lure Naruto to them." Explained Shino, but suddenly a massive pressure began to be pressed upon them.

Everyone in the street froze at the pressure and began to struggle to breathe as they slowly turned to see the cause of said pressure. What they saw was a massive surprise for they saw an older looking Naruto giving off massive amounts of chakra and a black chakra shroud covering his body.

"What did you say?" growled out Naruto as Neji regained some of his composure.

"I-Itachi…took her Naruto…" he managed to say before the pressure intensified.

"How dare he touch her…" growled Naruto as he turned away from the Hokage. "I'll rip his head off and feed it to the Kyubi."

"Naruto wait! There is no telling who you will be up against!" Tsunade managed to yell, but Naruto just glanced at her briefly before he jumped away.

"Quick! Go find Jiraiya and Kakashi and tell them to head after Naruto and assist him!" yelled Tsunade as her personal ANBU nodded and disappeared. "Where's Sasuke?"

"He was here just a second ago!" shouted Neji, as they all looked around for the Uchiha.

"He is going after Naruto, my bugs can sense him." Stated Shino

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<p>

"Don't try and stop me Sasuke…" growled Naruto as he jumped from roof to roof.

"I'm not here to stop you…I'm here to help my brother." Stated Sasuke as Naruto grinned ferally in response.

"Good…they won't know what hit them." Stated Naruto as the two leaped over the village walls and sprinted to the direction in which Naruto could sense Hinata. 'Hold on Hinata...they will regret ever touching you!'

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<br>END CHAPTER! NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE A HUGE BATTLE INVOLVING MANY NINJA ALL FIGHTING OVER THE SAME PRIZE!

HOPE YOU ALL LIKED IT! AUF WIEDERSIEN!


	15. Now it's Personal

YO! So I bet you are all glad that you get to see Naruto in action once more against the Akatsuki! However, first I would like to thank all of you that have read my story! You have given me the support to continue to the milestone I have reached.

**So I just started watching Sword Art Online and let me tell you this! It is freaking amazing and I can't wait for more episodes! You should all check it out or even better yet make some good Fanfiction for the series! It is fairly new on Fanfiction, but has like 9 Volumes of Light Novels currently complete so you should all get on it lol!**

So thank you all for your support and the 400+ reviews that I have received! Now I'm going to get to 500 reviews in the next few chapters…as long as you continue to like it! **THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!**

Although if I somehow got 500 by the next chapter I would probably do something along the lines of a Q/A for some of you who bothered to review.

**So anyone see Magna Episode 611? Did anyone like how Kiba came in and was like "Don't get cocky cause Hinata is here Naruto!", I know I did! Thanks a lot KIBA! WOOOOO!**

You know what I like about Shippuden…no matter who dies, they can come back later with the Edo Tensei!

**Now it's Personal**

"What are we going to do with her, when the Jinchuriki arrives?" asked Kisame as he eyed the unconscious Hyuga currently tied to a tree at the center of a clearing.

"It matters little to me Kisame, but we need her alive for now. When Naruto makes his move, we will strike at him." Stated Itachi as a large claybird landed down beside the two ninja.

"Sasori is dead and Orochimaru has fled alongside his assistant. As you can see I took quite the beating myself." Stated Deidara with anger as he motioned to his bloodied arm hanging uselessly at his side.

"I didn't expect Orochimaru to stick around for long as he was fighting Tsunade. However, I did expect him to have at least grabbed Sasuke before he left." Stated Itachi as he walked over to Hinata.

"So this is the girl…been awhile since I saw her on the mission so long ago." Stated Deidara as he glared at the girl a bit. "I can't wait to get my revenge on that boyfriend of hers."

"Easy Deidara…he will be here soon. I can feel him approaching at this very moment." Stated Itachi as he stopped Deidara from approaching the girl. "She was quite resilient to the Tsukyomi though…much stronger than I expected."

"So you were unable to shatter her mind?" asked Kisame as he felt Samehada vibrate in anticipation. "Samehada says that he is getting very close and there is another with him too…feels like your brother."

"No I wasn't, but I didn't expect my brother to come with Naruto. That changes things greatly for us." Stated Itachi "I will take my brother and then proceed to help you two with Naruto, but I'm sure you should still be able to take him Kisame."

"Don't worry Itachi…besides Hidan and Kakuzu are on their way as we speak." Answered Kisame as he stood up and grabbed a hold of Samehada. "They are here…Deidara get to the sky now."

Deidara quickly jumped to his clay bird and lifted into the sky just as Naruto and Sasuke landed in the clearing with a boom. Naruto had a look of controlled anger on his face as he glared at the Akatsuki ninja gathered before him. His eyes softened as they lingered on Hinata, but they hardened again only a second later.

Sasuke too had a look of controlled anger on his face as he glared at Itachi, who merely stared back at him with annoyance. "Hello Sasuke…here to finish what you started in the Leaf?"

"No…I'm here to kill a murder to ensure he never destroys another life like he did mine. I will never stoop to the level in which you reside Itachi…I will not live my life in hate." Stated Sasuke as he drew his katana.

"That's a pity Sasuke…you could have my eyes without even trying right now. Then perhaps you might be able to stand toe to toe with me." Stated Itachi as he drew a kunai and his Sharingan activated.

"I don't need those eyes to defeat you…I just need the support of my friends." Stated Sasuke as Naruto put his hands on his shoulder.

"We aren't just your friends…we are your new family…brother." Stated Naruto as Sasuke managed to smirk at Naruto.

"Better not hug me Naruto…save that for your girlfriend when we are done here." Stated Sasuke as Naruto smirked back.

"Duly noted…" responded Naruto.

Unknown to Naruto and Sasuke, Itachi was smiling on the inside as his brother turned to the path that would lead to the Uchiha becoming a respectable clan once more. The cycle of hatred that led to it's destruction had finally been broken by his brother.

"Then let us finish this battle once and for all…which is stronger? The power of hate or the need to protect those dear to you?" asked Itachi, but he already knew the answer to his question. "I want you all to stay out of this…I will handle my brother."

Itachi turned and ran deep into the woods as Sasuke nodded towards Naruto and took off quickly after his brother as Naruto nodded back. "So I guess that leaves the two of us then…Kisame and Deidara…been awhile hasn't it you two?" asked Naruto.

"You won't be getting lucky again brat. Last time you caught me by surprise with those eyes of yours." Stated Deidara with a grin as a group of smaller clay birds began to surround him.

"Not to mention that beast of yours...Samehada will just absorb the chakra of your beast if you use it." Stated Kisame with a wide grin as he crouched down.

"Well then if you are so confident…why kidnap Hinata? If you ask me your leaders are afraid of me and that is why they need to draw me away from Konoha." Stated Naruto as he began to create a couple of shadows alongside him, each had the Rinnegan in their eyes.

"I've been curious to what those eyes can do…" whispered Kisame with a grin as he wasted no time as he charged at Naruto. Naruto's shadows quickly spread out as the original activated a warp blade and charged at Kisame.

Naruto didn't get far as he was forced to dodge as several clay birds began to explode around him, forcing him to weave through the explosions as his shadows began to engage Kisame. However, they were quickly defeated as Samehada sucked out the chakra inside the shadows.

'His sword is destroying my shadows by disrupting the chakra? I guess I have to use physical attacks against him again…' thought Naruto as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal a familiar summoning tattoo.

"Haven't used this guy in awhile, but I am much better at using him than last time." Stated Naruto as he summoned the massive Kubirihocho. Naruto swung it around a few times before he sank into his shadow with a smirk on his face.

"Where did he go Deidara?" asked Kisame as he sank into a defensive stance. He would not let the kid ever get the drop on him.

"Surprise!" yelled Naruto as he phased into view right beside Kisame, who barely brought Samehada to his side to block the blow. Surprisingly the attack pushed the larger Kisame back a foot due to its strength.

'How can he be that strong?' pondered Kisame as he blocked an overhead strike that caused him to lose ground once again.

"Kisame! Jump back!" yelled Deidara as he launched a group of clay birds at the two, but they all exploded in mid air as a hail of black needles struck every single one of them.

From the ground two shadows were smirking at Deidara as one began to shift into the form of a giant eagle, that the other jumped up upon. The eagle took off and the clone on top began to shot balls of air at Deidara's clay bird that he resided on.

"Damn! Take this you Brat!" yelled Deidara as he reached into his pouch and threw hundreds of clay birds at Naruto's shadows. The shadows flew high into the air as the one riding the other, shot a Shinra Tensei at the birds causing them to explode.

Deidara had a line of sweat fall down his face as he saw his attack easily defeated by Naruto. Deidara quickly began to gather his clay in order to create his most powerful clay creation.

However, Naruto's shadows weren't giving him a chance to use his most powerful jutsu against him. They continued to try and score hits using any of his most powerful attacks on Deidara, but the Akatsuki member was still able to keep away.

Back on the ground the original Naruto and a annoyed Kisame continued to trade blows on equal ground using their blades. 'How is he able to keep up with me!' thought Kisame as he jumped back and stared to run through a few handsigns.

"You may be able to keep up with me now…but it ends here!" yelled Kisame as he started to spew out massive amounts of water that began to submerge the ground they were standing on.

Naruto just smiled as he put one of his hands on the water and watched as it all began to lose it's chakra that was being absorbed into him. Kisame was shocked as pretty soon every ounce of water that came from his mouth was gone in an instant.

"You aren't the only one that can render jutsu useless." Stated Naruto with a smirk as he suddenly appeared behind Kisame and slashed him deeply along the back. Kisame was able to jump back before more damage was done and healed himself using Samehada.

"Damn…how can you be beating me?" demanded Kisame as he shot multiple water balls at Naruto, but Naruto just sliced through each with ease. Naruto jumped back and began to charge blue energy into his hands.

"Take this you fish faced bastard!" yelled Naruto as he fired a blue bolt of energy at Samehada, who just smirked in response as he brought Samehada up in defense. However, his smirk was wiped off his face as the ball of energy impacted Samehada and exploded, sending him across the clearing and into a tree.

Kisame slowly got up as he used Samehada to heal the wounds created by the blue energy. "How did you do that? Samehada absorbs all traces of chakra!" yelled Kisame as Naruto smirked.

"Yeah…you see that attack used no chakra at all. Most of my modified techniques require a fusion of energy to work correctly, but some like the Psionic Blast require no chakra at all to use. So prepare yourself Kisame…for I will have that head of yours." Stated Naruto as he put his sword in his right hand and activated his warp blade in the left.

"Damn…most of my techniques won't even affect him." Muttered Kisame as he was suddenly forced to jump away as another Psionic Blast nearly hit him. He had no time to recover though as Naruto was already upon him.

Luckily Naruto's sword arm was now weaker as he only used one arm, but Kisame could feel Samehada's cries of pain as the Warp Blade impacted into its scales over and over again.

There took a standstill as a massive explosion sounded off just over their heads. They looked up to see Deidara standing on a massive clay dragon with an insane grin plastered on his face as he stared down at Naruto.

"I finally got them! Now there's only you left to experience my art!" yelled out Deidara as the dragon opened it's mouth.

Both Naruto and Kisame's eyes widened in surprise as a smaller dragon shot forth directly at the two of them. "What the hell!" yelled Kisame as the dragon impacted into the ground right between the two of them with a massive explosion.

When the cloud of dust cleared Kisame was seen on the ground bleeding heavily from a gaping hole in his chest as Samehada's chakra struggled to revive him. Naruto was no where to be seen as Deidara scanned the ground for any sign of him.

"HAHAHA I FINALLY KILLED HIM!" yelled Deidara, however to his surprise, the sun was suddenly blocked from his view by a massive eagle that flew above him. "But I destroyed that thi…" yelled Deidara before he was interrupted by a glowing green blade sticking out of his chest.

"Never assume that your enemy is dead…" stated Naruto as he pulled his blade from Deidara's chest and kicked him off his bird.

Deidara hit the ground with a thud as he struggled to close the wound in his chest as Naruto landed only 10 meters away from him.

"You are pathetic…you care little for your allies and that is why you have lost. Kisame is in no position to help you now due to your own actions." Stated Naruto as he approached Deidara, who had managed to get on his elbows.

"Damn you! I will not die like this!" yelled Deidara as is body slowly turned to Clay as Naruto made to finish him off.

The clay clone blew with a force of a tonne of dynamite that blew a huge crater into the ground. Kisame was blown away by the blast as Samehada finally finished healing his wounds, but he was too exhausted to continue. Deidara finally reappeared holding his bleeding chest as he smirked at the destruction he had created.

"You really though that would defeat me." Asked Naruto as a single tree was revealed to still be standing. It was the one holding Hinata and it had been defended by a blue shield of energy that was surrounding Naruto.

"How?" asked Deidara as Naruto just smirked as he created a clone that freed Hinata and took off with her on his shoulders.

"SHE ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE!" yelled Deidara as he shot a couple of clay projectiles at Hinata, but they were intercepted by a wall of black shadows.

"Your fight is with me coward." Snarled out Naruto, but he was forced to duck as a massive scythe passed by his head.

"Will you look at this pussy? Haha he thinks that he can defeat the Akatsuki by himself! What a dumbass!" yelled a white haired man, who was wielding the large triple-bladed scythe.

"Calm yourself Hidan…this one is the container of the Kyubi. Leader has already expressed us to use caution when facing him." Stated a third voice as a tanned man with teal eyes jumped into the clearing. He was covered in stiches that ran along his entire body, but most were covered by his robes.

"Shut the hell up Kakuzu! I can do what ever I want and that limp dick leader can't do shit about it!" Yelled Hidan as he turned back towards Naruto and raised his scythe above his head. "Jashin will enjoy feasting on your soul brat!"

With that Hidan charged at Naruto with frightening speed, but Naruto easily followed the attack with his eyes. Just before the scythe hit him, a shadow rose from the ground and blocked it using Kubrihocho. The real Naruto smirked as he shot an air bullet directly into the gut of Hidan, breaking a few ribs on contact , which sent him flying across the clearing.

'Freaking piece of shit brat!" yelled Hidan as he jumped to his feet as if nothing had even happened. He charged once again, but this time Naruto summoned a few shadows to deal with Hidan alone as he worried about the rest of the Akatsuki members in the clearing.

"How are you Kisame?" asked Kakuzu as Kisame grunted in pain as he regained his footing.

"Samehada is struggling to repair the damage done to me by that bastard." Stated Kisame as he glared at Deidara, who merely rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I may be more of a hindrance in this fight."

"Then sit this one out…we don't need any of you getting in the way." Ordered Kakuzu, but Deidara wasn't hearing any of that.

"NO he is mine and mine alone! Don't get in my way!" yelled Deidara as he prepared to send a few more clay creations at Naruto, before Kakuzu appeared in front of him and knocked him out with a punch to the stomach.

"Leader still has use for you Deidara…" stated Kakuzu as he turned to look at Naruto. "Now come with us Shadow Fox of Konoha…"

"Hmph…you guys just keep coming don't you?" asked Naruto as he activated his Warp Blade. "If you want me…come and get me." Stated Naruto as he sank into his shadow.

He jumped out of Kakuzu's shadow and made a lunge for the nin's chest, but he was intercepted by a couple of large pieces of sticking that came from Kakuzu's hand. Before he could be wrapped in the stitching though he cut through it with his warp blade.

"Drilling Air Bullet!" yelled Naruto as he hit Kakuzu from point blank range with his attack. Kakuzu flew across the clearing, but as he hit the ground he burst into a puddle of water.

'Naruto! This is Kakuzu of the Many Hearts!' yelled a voice in his mind that he recognized to be the voice of the residential chakra of his father 'He fought the Nidaime Hokage years ago and survives by replacing his heart with the hearts of shinobi that he has killed. He has one heart for every one of the five elements!'

'So he can use all five elements?' asked Naruto as he felt his father nod in affirmation.

"Well it's a good thing that the Rinnegan allows me to every element too." Stated Naruto as he created two more shadows. He was currently at his limits for his shadows as he had one taking Hinata away and two currently battling Hidan in a close range melee.

"You are quite impressive Shadow Fox…not many have been able to get that close to me. However, that ability of yours gives you quite an advantage compared to others. It will be quite an addition to my abilities…" stated Kakuzu as he took off his cloak.

Naruto just smirked in response as his shadows shot forward towards Kakuzu. Kakuzu just smirked as he shot his stitching at the shadows, but they just avoided the attacks and cut the ones that did get close to their bodies. However, landing a hit on Kakuzu was another question altogether as he was one of the most experienced ninja's alive. He used a variety of wind and fire techniques to keep the shadows away from him as he scanned for the real Naruto across the plain.

"You are a sly one Uzumaki...it is said that you were a shadow itself. However, I will not let my guard down for a second." Stated Kakuzu as he heard movement from his right.

He turned to see three Narutos charging at him with their warp blades activated. "Too slow! Katon: Great Destruction!" A massive explosion of flames shot out of his mouth and consumed the three Narutos, but Kakuzu knew it wouldn't be that easy.

"Rasengan!" yelled Naruto he jumped out of the ground and tried to shove a Rasengan into Kakuzu's back. However, a blast of air hit him directly from Kakuzu's back.

Naruto flew back across the battleground, but managed to remain on his feet as he stared at Kakuzu's now exposed body. His body was more grotesque than his arms and different parts of him seemed to have come from separate people. Along with that he seemed to have 4 masks attached to his body at separate locations.

"What the hell did you do to yourself?" asked Naruto as he stood up and stared at Kakuzu. Kakuzu just stared at Naruto as his back began to shift as if something lived under the skin.

To Naruto's growing horror his back burst open as three black masses shot out of his back to surround. Slowly the masses of black formed three hulking figures, each with a mask of it's own.

"Do you see this?" asked Kakuzu as the three masked figures took to the sky to circle around Kakuzu. "Each one contains the heart of a fallen shinobi that I killed in the past. With this jutsu I came close to killing one of your Hokages, but I was forced to retreat in the end and by the end of this day your heart will be added to my collection."

When he was finished speaking , all three masks charged at Naruto and began to attack him in unison. Naruto jumped back to avoid a flurry of fireballs that would've burned him badly if he hadn't moved, then he rolled to side as another mask began fire balls of air at him in rapid succession, each one tearing up the ground when they hit. The last mask seemed to be just studying him while he avoided the attacks coming from the other two.

Kakuzu himself just watched the battle with a calculating eye as Naruto dodged, ducked, dipped, dived, and dodged the multiple attacks coming from his air and fire mask. He could make out in the distance Hidan fighting two of Naruto's shadows in a intense melee.

The battle with Hidan and the shadows could be called a stalemate as Hidan was effectively immortal so the shadows could do no damage, but the shadows were more skilled and couldn't be killed either so they were locked in a perpetual melee with no clear victor in sight.

Hidan's battle was of little concern to Kakuzu, who still had to deal with the original. Naruto had been evading his masks effectively, even when the lightning mask had joined the attack on him. However, he still wasn't coming away unscathed as multiple attacks had nearly connected.

"Shinra Tensei!" yelled Naruto to Kakuzu's shock as all three masks were blown away as Naruto dashed across the clearing quicker than Kakuzu expected However, it wasn't fast enough as Kakuzu shot out his tendrils and trapped Naruto before him.

"Risky move, but you weren't fast enough." Stated Kakuzu as he began to squeeze Naruto with his ropes. However Kakuzu's eyes went wide as he felt and indiscernible amount of pain come from inside him. The sound and smell of burning flesh filled his senses as he felt his two hearts melt from the intense heat coming from the glowing blade coming from his chest. "How?"

"The shadow from earlier…the one that ran away with Hinata before our battle began. Once it handed her off to a medical squad, it came here to assist me as it was one of my three remaining shadows." Stated Naruto as he was released from Kakuzu's hold.

Naruto didn't waste time as he flew towards Hidan with his shadow following after him. 'I have to incapacitate him at least…' thought Naruto as he jumped high as his shadow went low and landed a kick to Hidan's jaw before he could react. Hidan was launched into the air straight into the waiting arms of Naruto.

Hidan could do nothing as the glowing Warp Blade cut into his neck like a hot knife through butter. Naruto flipped and landed as he turned to look at the falling body and head of Hidan. Naruto walked up to the head of Hidan to collect, but was surprised as hell when Hidan's eyes opened wide.

"What the fuck! The fucking hurt you prick! How dare you, Jashin-Sama will have your head for this you prick! Kakuzu, get your ass over here and reattach my head to my body before I kill you." Yelled Hidan as Naruto looked at it with a raised eyebrows.

"I'm not even going to ask…" stated Naruto as he raised his foot above Hidan's head.

"What the hell do you think you are doing!" yelled Hidan as he saw the foot above his head. This was the first time Naruto had heard this man even have a scrap of fear contained in his voice.

"If decapitating you doesn't work…then crushing you should." Stated Naruto as he brought his foot down on Hidan's head, crushing it with a single movement. "Immortal my ass." Stated Naruto as he remembered all the times Hidan claimed to be immortal to his shadows.

With that Naruto heard an explosion behind him and he turned to face a large blast coming straight towards his shadows. The blast consumed him in less than a second, and any onlooker would say that Naruto seemed to have been consumed by the powerful attack.

Kakuzu stood straight across the destroyed clearing as he stared at the devastated battlefield with an impassive stare. "What a fool…I always told him that he needed to be more careful. Leader will not be happy though…we were supposed to keep the Jinchuriki alive."

However, this was proven false as Kakuzu was hit by an invisible force that sent him flying into a large tree. Kakuzu slowly got up and was surprised to see a slightly burned Naruto standing before him with a warp blade activated.

"That nearly had me…luckily I blinked away before any real damage could be done." Stated Naruto with a smirk as he crouched low in preparation.

"Impressive, but it isn't over yet." Stated Kakuzu as his body began to shift once more as all three remaining hearts were now in his body. Kakuzu became a horrible mass of stitching as his body burst apart and created a large web around his body. Naruto watched in horror as Kakuzu took to the skies and stared at Naruto with his emerald eyes.

"It seems I am in luck…with you being alive I can still finish my mission." Stated Kakuzu as numerous stitching shot at Naruto with terrifying speed. Naruto quickly back flipped away from the majority of stitching and used his blade to cut through the rest as he began to weave his way through the mass.

Finally it seemed Kakuzu's stitching had surrounded him, just before he blinked to above Kakuzu with his blade ready to sever his head. However, Kakuzu immediately sensed him and stitching rushed to restrain him.

Naruto slashed at the first stitching, but blinked away as more wrapped around his ankles. Naruto reappeared in front of Kakuzu only 10 meters away as he shot a ball of wind directly at Kakuzu, but the stitching was already there to shield him from the blow.

'It's like fighting Gaara all over again.' Thought Naruto as he blinked away once more, but this time quite a distance away from Kakuzu with some sweat running down his face. 'Guess I should use it then…'

Naruto crouched down as he formed two shadows to defend him while he gathered his energies. His body began to blow a bluish white as he gathered energy needed for one of his most powerful attacks.

Meanwhile his shadows were launching jutsu left and right at Kakuzu, who was just trying to deal with the two Naruto's that were attacking ferociously with any wind or shadow jutsu. They had even nearly connected numerous times as his stitching wasn't a perfect defense.

His attention was focused so much on Naruto's shadows that he didn't even care for the original, now glowing a bright blue with streams of electricity coming from his body till it was far too late. He watched as both the shadows gave a smirk as they dissolved.

It was at that moment that a bright flash of light filled his vision as lighting bolts arced down from seemingly nowhere with an intense ferocity. Thunderous was the only way he could describe it as his body acted as a lighting rod to the attack. He could feel his insides burn with each strike to his body, and as suddenly as it started, it had stopped.

Most of the stitching had burned away by the lightning and Kakuzu himself smelled of burnt and cooked flesh as he fell to the ground without his stitching to support him no longer.

Despite all the damage he had taken Kakuzu was still alive and with a his last remaining good eye he watched Naruto approach him slowly with his blade activated. "You all made a mistake today."

Kakuzu didn't respond, he couldn't even barely breath let alone talk so he just watched as Naruto stared down at him impassively.

"Before today Akatsuki was nothing more than an organization that wanted my life for what is contained with me, but today I know that idea is false. My life is inconsequential as long as my loved ones are safe, but today you changed everything. You stole my light and expected me to give it up and retreat back to the darkness? Akatsuki doesn't care how many or who they hurt in order to complete their goals…you even attempted to take Hinata and for that one reason I will ensure that you wall fail….I will ensure that Akatsuki will be nothing more than a footnote in the pages of history. I promise you that…" Naruto then stabbed the warp blade deep into Kakuzu's chest as he leaned closer to Kakuzu's ear. "Now it's personal, believe it!"

Naruto was then startled by a massive explosion that seemed to have come from somewhere deep in the forest. 'Sasuke!' thought Naruto as he took off in the direction of the battle.

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Well sorry you guys, but next chapter will be the showdown between Itachi and Sasuke….not sure if I should allow Itachi to live or not. I probably won't let him live so he can be revived with the Edo Tensei, but who knows right now!

I only have one more week until finals are over so hopefully I can do a few more chapters before the break.

**OKAY JUST WANT YOU TO ALL KNOW THAT PAPER WINGS AND THE FORSAKEN FOX HAVE ALL BEEN SET UP TO BE ADOPTED AS I HAVE NO MOTIVATION TO FINISH THEM. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO SO, JUST SEND ME A PM!**

**THANKS AS ALWAYS…ICHeart**

**AUF WIEDERSEHN**


	16. A Brother's Feud

Well here is the fight between Sasuke and Itachi! I have been contemplating how I should do the battle for some time now and I believe I have gotten it to a point in which you all will enjoy it and be emotionally attached to both characters.

**I had no idea, but last chapter I posted was a day before the 1-year anniversary of The Fox's Shadow! I can't believe I've been writing this story for over a year now!** **So once again, thanks for all the support you have all been giving me in writing this story! I have officially hit 450 reviews and have had over 200,000 visitors since this story has been started so! THANKS!**

**Big news I have decided to make a Facebook page on Fanfiction for people who do or don't have accounts on FF to ask questions if they want to about things happening in the story! I will post regularly on the page to get you information about updates and ideas that I have. Also I will be advertising stories that I enjoy on it regularly so check it out if you have the time!**

Now to get on with the story!

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Sasuke stared at his brother across the abandoned village that he had led him to. The village was deserted and the buildings seemed to be close to falling apart with vegetation growing all over them. However, Sasuke was glad that he didn't have to worry about hurting any innocent people in the approaching fight.

"So this is the end…no matter what at least one of us dies here today Foolish Brother." Stated Itachi as he stared at him with emotionless black eyes. Sasuke stared back defiantly and refused to show his brother a single ounce of what he was truly feeling.

"I have spent everyday for the past 9 years thinking of this day. What I would ask you and how I would fight you. But now I can see that was all for not…it doesn't matter what you say to justify your actions…you killed everyone whether it was for a good reason or just to prove your strength." Sasuke started as he stared at his brother in defiance.

He was no longer that kid thirsting for revenge against the man who ruined his life. This was no longer based off revenge; in fact it had nothing to do with revenge anymore. So Sasuke was going to let it be known to his brother that hate was no way to live one's life.

"What matters is that you killed people…you made others suffer just for your own selfish desires and I can't allow that. You threatened my village and attacked it just so you could kidnap Hinata to lure a single person away. Many people died tonight and I am going to ensure that you are never allowed to do so again. I no longer fight using my hate, I fight now to protect and that will give me the strength to defeat you. So you can call me your foolish brother, but I am not the one who is foolish…you are the one who is foolish…Itachi." Stated Sasuke as he drew the sword on his back and slid into a kenjutsu stance.

Itachi stood there with an emotionless face as if none of what Sasuke said surprised him, but on the inside he was never happier. Sasuke had just proven himself above any other Uchiha in history and Itachi had never felt better in his life. However, Itachi could never bring himself to show any of this…so he himself slid into his stance.

"Then show me your new power….the power to protect and prove to me that it is stronger than the power to hate." Replied Itachi with the barest amount of emotion hidden in his voice.

Both brothers stood across from each other with their Sharingans blazing in response to the other. There were no delusions shared between the two…what needed to be said had already been said and they were now ready to face each other.

Sasuke started the battle with throwing numerous shuriken at Itachi, who lazily dodged each attack. Though it did give Sasuke time to close the distance between the two and engage him at close range with his sword. Sasuke knew that his sword had an advantage against Itachi's kunai, but that didn't mean much considering Itachi was a former ANBU Captain.

Sasuke attacked quickly with precision, making sure to stay out of the range of Itachi's kunai, which had considerably lesser range than his sword. He could feel it as he attacked Itachi, becoming one with his sword as his sensei had told him multiple times. It was a principle that a sword wasn't only a weapon, but an extension of one's arm and Sasuke could feel that now as he moved fluently from attack to attack.

Itachi on the other hand was extremely impressed by the way his brother had been fighting him with the blade. He had fought many sword wielders over his life, but few had come close to the level his brother was displaying now. His brother was pushing him back and even a slight mistake could potentially be fatal in this situation, so he had to get some distance.

However, Itachi realized to late that he had extended his arm to far out and Sasuke capitalized on this by knocking the kunai from his hand and quickly stabbing it deeply into his chest. However, Itachi burst into a flock of crows that circled around Sasuke for a second before reforming several meters away from him.

"You don't seem surprised…" stated Itachi as he stared at his brother.

"I knew it was too easy to defeat you like that. I'm no fool…I know it will take everything I have to win this battle. Even if it isn't enough I will weaken you enough for Naruto to come and finish you off." Replied Sasuke.

"He is currently facing Kisame and Deidara right now, and there is a good chance that two more members will be arriving shortly. No he will not be coming to help you little brother, even if he does win." Explained Itachi as Sasuke just snorted in response.

"You obviously don't know Naruto…he would beat an entire village just to save Hinata. Your three allies will not even stand a chance against him Itachi." Said Sasuke with a smile.

'Is he bluffing or does Naruto actually have that much power and skill?' thought Itachi as he charged Sasuke this time.

Sasuke met him this time and was surprised by the strength of the blow as he skidded back a bit and struggled to hold Itachi. Quickly he began to make signs with his free hand and his arm was covered in a coat of electricity to Itachi's surprise.

"Chidori Senbon!" said Sasuke as hundreds of electric senbon were launched at Itachi who jumped back and began to avoid the senbon. Sasuke didn't waste any time and quickly pulled out two demon shuriken and threw them at Itachi, who wasn't fast enough to dodge them and got cut along both his arms.

"Katon: Phoenix Fireball!" cried out Itachi as he fired off a wave of small fireballs at Sasuke to get him a moment to regroup himself. However, Sasuke merely channeled electricity into his blade and charged right towards Itachi, while cutting any fireball in his path.

Seeing no alternative Itachi cried out "Amaterasu!" as his Sharingan morphed and black flames shot out of his eyes. Sasuke barely jumped out of the way as the black flames continued to chase him.

Sasuke ran into the labyrinth of ruins as the black fires burned away anything in their path. He had learned through the old Uchiha scrolls that it may be powerful, it put massive amounts of strain on Itachi so all he had to do was wait it out.

However, Itachi wasn't going to give him that chance as he burst from the ground and aimed threw a flurry of shurinken at Sasuke, who was unable to dodge every one as he was more focused on the black fire right behind him.

Even though the shurinken hurt, he ignored the pain as the adrenaline spread through his body as he decided to engage Itachi and force him to cease his technique. The plan worked as Itachi had to focus on dodging Sasuke's deadly sword strikes and could no longer direct the Amaterasu flames.

No longer could Itachi block using a kunai as the Chidori powered blade cut through his kunai as if nothing was even there in the first place. The only thing keeping him alive currently was his more advanced Sharingan. But his strength was failing him by the minute as the fight went on…he had been sick for years and soon his health would fail him in this fight. However, he would push his brother to his limits and that was a promise.

Itachi quickly positioned himself within Sasuke's guard and delivered a kick that sent Sasuke crashing into a mossed covered wall that crumpled as Sasuke flew into it. Sasuke didn't stay down long, but it was enough for Itachi to launch a Grand Fireball at Sasuke at a range that he couldn't dodge.

Sasuke quickly ran through the seals for his fireball and fired it off just a second before Itachi's could hit. Despite the large explosion Sasuke as able to get away, but not before being burnt badly across him arms. When the smoke cleared Sasuke was surprised by what he saw.

What surprised him was the giant orange skeletal specter that was surrounding Itachi. Itachi's eyes were now bleeding heavily as the specter was soon covered by a robe of what seemed like chakra.

"What is this?" asked Sasuke in surprise as a pair of glowing eyes appeared on the specter.

"This is the Susanoo, the Mangekyo Sharingan's most powerful technique. It is the ultimate attack and shield and has no equal." Stated Itachi as the Susanoo raised it's sword and swung down at Sasuke.

Sasuke dived out of the way and fired another Grand Fireball at Itachi, but the Susanoo just raised it's shield and blocked the fireball with absolutely no damage down to it at all. Not deterred in the least Sasuke continued to dodge attack after attack from the Susanoo, but not without few close calls. Despite it's size it was still extremely fast compared to what one would believe.

Numerous times Sasuke had been launched across the battlefield into a building or two and his body was starting to show the strain. His black armor had been worn down and his sleeves had burned away with scratches and burns covering his arm and face.

If Sasuke looked beat up, Itachi looked exhausted. He was panting and covered in sweat and his eyes were bleeding out a profuse amount of blood showing the strain that his body was currently in trying to maintain the Sharingan.

Luck however was not on Sasuke's side as he was too slow to dodge a strike from the Susanoo so in a last ditch throw of desperation he brought his sword up to block the blow. In a resounding crash the sword shattered as Sasuke was launched across the battlefield through multiple buildings.

The blow was so powerful that Itachi was truly surprised when Sasuke stood up from a pile of rubble. Stone, dust, and blood fell to the ground as Sasuke glared at Itachi with defiance. One could tell that the attack had done a major amount of damage seeing as his chest was now covered in rags and there was a steel rod sticking out of his arm.

"It's over brother…you put up a decent fight, but you cannot possibly continue on the way you are." Stated Itachi as Sasuke painfully maneuvered into his stance. "So you're going to continue anyway?"

Sasuke said nothing as he took a deep breath and ran through a few hand seals as both his hands were covered in white lightning. "I will not give up…I'm going to defeat you Itachi…no matter what. You will never hurt another person again!"

And with that Sasuke took off like a bullet as Itachi's Susanoo swung at him with it's full might. However, as the blade was just about to hit, there was a flash of electricity and Sasuke was now just to the right of the blade, avoiding it completely.

"What?" asked Itachi in surprise as Sasuke leapt high into the air and pulled back his white arm in preparation of attacking Itachi.

"This is for all those you have hurt!" roared Sasuke as the arm shot through Susanoo's ribs as if they didn't exist! The lightning blade continued on and pierced Itachi deeply in the stomach. The two seemed to be in suspended animation as all movement ceased to exist between the two.

Itachi's bloodied eyes stared deeply at Sasuke as Sasuke's stared right back in acceptance for what he had done. Despite everything Itachi had done in the past the memories that he had of him before the massacre would always be there for him to remember.

Finally Itachi's Susanoo lost its stability and exploded in a small blast of chakra that sent Sasuke and Itachi flying from each other. Slowly Sasuke worked his way to his feet, fighting exhaustion and pain to see what happened to Itachi.

To Sasuke's shock Itachi was slowly standing up himself despite the blood coming from his eyes and a massive amount coming from his gut. "Let's finish this with one final jutsu Brother…" wheezed out Itachi as he ran through a series of handseals.

Sasuke, despite being shocked at how his brother could still fight, ran through the seals and they both launched the Great Fireball at the same time. Both attacks battled for dominance over each other for a few seconds, before Sasuke suddenly noticed the black flames added to Itachi's attack.

In that moment Sasuke poured every ounce of chakra he could summon into the attack in an attempt to destabilize the attack before it got too close to him. The extra chakra turned his fire to a bright white and when it made contact with the black flames the attacks overloaded and exploded.

Sasuke saw nothing as his Sharingan was blinded by the massive blast of white light. He could feel what was left of his clothes get burned away along with near unbearable pain along his torso and arms before he momentarily lost consciousness as he felt himself get slammed into something hard.

Slowly Sasuke regained consciousness, slumped against a wall somehow still on his feet. However, what truly surprised him was to see his brother only a few meters away from him slowly making his way to him. Sasuke did nothing for there was nothing to do, his body was beat and refused to move no matter what he did.

Itachi lifted his hand and slowly made his way to Sasuke with an eerie smile on his face the whole time. Sasuke flinched as he was suddenly poked on the forehead by Itachi who was now smiling not one of victory, but one of joy.

"Brother…I'm sorry for everything I have done. You are the future of our clan and I will always love you no matter the life you live. I'm glad though that you chose this path." Whispered Itachi as his bloodied fingers slowly trailed down Sasuke's face and fell to his side as he too fell to the ground dead.

Sasuke's mind went blank at this information as his legs gave way and he slid down the wall onto the ground. He could feel his Sharingan burn as he began to weep tears of blood…no matter what he had said he too had always loved his brother and he had been the one to kill him.

This was how Naruto found him when he arrived onto the battlefield. Naruto quickly spotted him next to the now dead Itachi Uchiha and jumped down next to him.

"Sasuke! Are you alright!" asked Naruto urgently as he began to check his wounds.

"I'm alright…please let's get back to the village." Stated Sasuke as Naruto moved to pick him up, but Sasuke stopped him. "Please bring my brother too."

Naruto nodded in understanding as he made a shadow pick up Itachi and he with that they all left the battlefield. Unknown to them, the two sides of Zetsu refused and quickly left the battlefield with detailed information on both combatants.

"Tobi will love to have this information!" declared the white half as the black half grumbled about not being able to attack himself.

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Naruto and Sasuke made it back to village to see that repairs had already started despite the attack only ending a few hours ago. Citizens volunteered to clear the rubble and search for those who were missing and the village was already starting to look better.

Security too was on high alert as numerous patrols stopped Naruto while he was on his way back to the leaf with Sasuke on his shoulder. Naruto was close to snapping as the third patrol had stopped him and Sasuke now as he had to get back as soon as he could.

"Damn! Just let us pass!" yelled Naruto as he glared at the two chuunin before him. They backed away in slight fear as they felt the powerful chakra that Naruto was giving off all around him.

"We're sorry, but it is standard procedure for everyone who is coming into the village." One of the chuunin nervously stated.

"It's okay, you can hand him off to me." Stated a new voice from above them.

"Kakashi!" cheered Naruto in surprise and happiness. "How is she?"

Kakashi looked at his two old students with a proud look in his eye. He saw the clone holding Itachi's body meaning that either one had killed Itachi and he knew that Naruto had rescued Hinata earlier as he ran into the team who had taken Hinata off his shadow's hands.

"She is good Naruto, Tsunade has already began to look over her and she should be awake any time now." Stated Kakashi. "Best we get Sasuke to the hospital too, and your shadow take Itachi's body to the village's morgue."

Naruto nodded and followed Itachi as his shadow went off into a completely different direction. With out the routine stops by the Chunins their group quickly made it to the hospital and as soon as Sasuke was taken away by a nurse Naruto rushed towards where Hinata was being held.

Naruto quickly made it to the room and after taking a second to compose himself he entered to see Tsunade, Hiashi Hyuga, Hanabi, Neji, Kiba, and Shino all already in the room sitting around her bed.

They all looked up surprised to see him entering the room especially since most hadn't even heard of him being back in the village. Though many were shocked by the calm face he had on since Hinata was in a coma. If anything they expected him to be angry or furious that the girl he loved was hurt. They had no idea that Naruto had just fought 4 S-Rank ninja to save her. Kiba stood up with an enraged look on his face as he glared deeply at Naruto.

"This is all your fault! If you had gotten hear earlier Hinata would be okay right now! Instead you just waltz in here like nothing is even wrong!" yelled Kiba, as Shino tried to pull him back down. "Stop Shino! He has to hear this now! She cares too much about you for you to act like there is nothing wrong with her right now."

"What did you say?" asked Naruto as he bowed his head. Once couldn't tell whether or not he was feeling shame, sadness, or even anger. "You dare tell me that I don't care fore her."

"That's exactly what I'm saying! We trusted you with her and here you are acting like she doesn't even matter to you!" yelled Kiba as a sudden spike in chakra caught all of their attention.

"How dare you say that! She is the only thing in the world that truly matters to me! I would go to hell and back just to see her smile in happiness!" growled Naruto as he raised his eyes to reveal his Rinnegan eyes glowing in power. "I may not have been here soon enough to save her from this fate, but I was here soon enough to save her from the likes of the Akatsuki! I fought them while my clone brought her back to village to ensure that she was safe!"

Kiba at least had the decency to blush at what Naruto had just said. He was right; it wasn't Naruto's fault that Hinata had been attacked. They all knew the risks of being friends with Naruto now and they had all accepted it. It just he was looking for the first thing to blame and Naruto seemed the best choice.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry Naruto…I don't know why I said that." Stated Kiba with a sigh as he looked at Hinata. "I'm just worried for her."

Naruto sighed as his anger left him and his Rinnegan faded away. "It's okay Kiba…I understand."

Naruto nodded at the others in the room and took a seat at a chair right next to the head of the bed as Hinata slept peacefully. At first glance one wouldn't even be able to believe that she had been subjected to one of the worst genjutsu known to man.

"I think that is enough for tonight. She should be fine in a few days with a little rest." Stated Tsunade as she got up and walked towards the door. "I expect a detailed report about your trip when things have blown over Naruto."

"Hai!" replied Naruto as Hiashi and Hanabi got up and left after giving their goodbyes too.

"I believe I can trust you right Naruto?" asked Shino as Naruto smiled at him and nodded. "Good, come on Kiba we are leaving."

"What! Why do I have to leave?" protested Kiba as Shino just looked him. The look could be considered creepy by those who didn't know Shino.

"Because ever since I learned how to communicate with fleas my life has been much more enjoyable. So we are leaving now or my life will be much more enjoyable tomorrow morning when I unleash that new ability on you when you go on your daily walk with Ino." Stated Shino as Kiba looked at him in horror.

"What! That was you! You bastard!" sputtered Kiba as he glared at Shino, but Shino didn't budge an inch from the stare. "Fine…you win this time. Make sure nothing happens to her Naruto or I will kick your ass."

"Eh…you could try." Mocked Naruto as he watched Kiba throw a small glare at him before he left the room.

"I was wondering when they would leave…" muttered a soft voice from beside Naruto.

"Hinata!" exclaimed Naruto in a hushed tone as he gripped her hand. "Are you okay? Do you want me to get you something?"

Naruto was stopped from rambling as Hinata's other hand covered his mouth and prevented him from speaking. "I just want you to be with me tonight." She stated as Naruto leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

"That I can do my love." Stated Naruto as he gripped her hand tightly. They sat there just staring at each other for a few moments before Hinata scooted away from Naruto to the other side of the bed. "What are you doing?"

"Well I don't want you to sleep on that uncomfortable chair all night. So you might as well just join me on this bed." Stated Hinata as Naruto turned an interesting shade of red.

"What! I don't think that kind of thing is allowed in the hospital Hinata!" spluttered Naruto as Hinata giggled.

"Silly! You can just sleep on the outside of the covers then." She said with a smile as she patted the area next to her. "I just want to be as close to you as possible."

Naruto smiled as climbed up the bed and laid on his back next to Hinata. She repositioned herself so she was on her side with her head leaning on Naruto for comfort. "Are you sure your okay Hinata?"

"Never better Naruto…never better." She whispered as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Naruto watched her sleep for a few minutes before he leaned his head down and kissed the top of her head. "Sleep well my princess…I will always be here for you."

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<br>There you guys go the end of what I believe is a very good chapter…one of my best and it didn't even have Naruto fight. It had Sasuke fight! OH MY GOD WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TO!

RUN FOR THE SHELTERS FOR THE WORLD IS ENDING!

Well you guys all know the routine! Let me know how it is, and who knows if there are enough reviews by Tuesday I will focus on getting the next chapter out as quickly as I can!

Well enjoy your day and have fun! I know I will!

Recommendations! Haven't done these in awhile, but I think you should check these stories out!

**Reconciliation **by **Jan Lee**: This is a Dead Space story with a Isaac and Ellie pairing that fans of the series will enjoy greatly! If you are not a fan of the series I suggest you become a fan and read this story then! It is also, in my opinion the best Dead Space story out there in Fanfiction.

**The Dual Bending Warrior **by **SoulReaperCrewe**: This is an Avatar/Naruto crossover where Naruto is sent to the Avatar world and befriends Zuko, Azula, Mai, and Tai Lee. Naruto is a powerful firebender and decides to leave the day Zuko is exiled and begins to help the rest of the world by himself until he meets the Avatar.

**Come What May **by **Erased In Flame**: This is a Tali and Shepard pairing that features a retelling of the first game and onward. It developes the relationship between Tali and Shephard much earlier in the series, but not too early that it seems forced.

So you should go check these three stories out cause they are all extremely well written and deserve some extra praise!


	17. Homecoming

Well I was hoping for a better reaction last chapter from all of you as I actually did believe that was my best chapter to date in terms of details when it came to fighting and their feelings. PLUS wasn't the ending with Naruto and Hinata just so cute!

Got an XBOX a few weeks ago and I'm playing Halo 4! Add me if you want to play with me at any time! Name is **ICHeartless,** I'm a little mad that someone took my name for Xbox, but whatever! Add me and if you want to play just send me an invite!

You know what I'm psyched! Psyched cause Kishimoto is finally giving Hinata the time she deserves in the Magna and Naruto is basically accepting her! It's taken over 600 issues to finally make me fell comfortable that Naruto and Hinata was actually going to happen!

So in celebration I'm giving all ya Naruto/Sakura or Naruto/Sasuke lovers out there the finger right now in celebration! YOU LOST MUHAHAHAHAHAHA I'VE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER!

Now for a sad note…it pains me to say this, but the week when Inoichi and Shikaku died my friend and I were debating the outcome. Now he isn't a big fan of Hinata or any pairing, but he started talking trash about how she was just going to die as KIshimoto hated her. Well I got angry at this and said that they were going to kill someone off who already made his redemption and owed Naruto, so I said that Neji would be the one to die. Now he got angry at this and said that if Neji did die, he would kick my ass. Well a week later I was in bed sleeping when I got a call on the phone from my friend…let me tell you this…he was not happy at me and I knew why immediately. Calmly I spoke two words into the phone and got a very agitated reply from him…something about beating my ass…something he can back up as he is a National Qualifying Boxer…those words were "Neji Died…". Well thanks for reading my rant! Hopefully I don't die when I go back to school in two weeks!

Well with that over with let's get started with the seventeenth chapter and the longest story I have ever had the privilege to have you read.

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>X<br>X  
>X<br>**Homecoming**

Orochimaru looked over various notes and instruments as Kabuto worked on a barely conscious man in the background. His frantic movements clearly showed how nervous and on edge Orochimaru was for this particular procedure that Kabuto and him were attempting.

"Lord Orochimaru! The subject is degrading quickly, if we don't do something the procedure will fail." Shouted Kabuto as he grabbed a syringe and shoved it into the chest of the man on the table.

Immediately the man started shouting pain as his blood burned the veins as the whatever was in the syringe mixed into his circulatory system. Orochimaru stood up and walked into the view of the man currently on the table.

"Just hang in there a little longer, the procedure is nearly complete." Stated Orochimaru smoothly as the prisoner visibly relaxed "You are the accumulation of all my research…all my dreams and you will be awarded for your services today."

The man restrained to the table visibly relaxed for a second as the sweet words of Orochimaru drifted into his ear. Orochimaru smiled on the inside as the man relaxed, my how easy it was to bend the will of men to his cause and create absolute loyalty to him.

Suddenly the man on the table gave off a massive scream as he started to convulse and spasm in pain. Orochimaru and Kabuto immediately went about trying to stabilize the man, but it wasn't meant to be as the man's eyes burst and his body ceased to move.

"I'm sorry Lord Orochimaru, I guess we still have much work to do." Stated Kabuto sadly as Orochimaru slammed his fist into the wall while cursing.

Things over the past few years hadn't gone well at all, he had failed at retrieving the Uchiha brat and Konoha was still standing. If things weren't bad enough Jiraiya and his brat had been tracking him for the past year, mirroring him at every turn.

Now he had finally had a reprieve for the past year and he could finally start his newest project of mutating eyes to make the Sharingan. So far results had been less than satisfactory, but Orochimaru was more than determined to get his eyes and learn all ninjustsu in the world.

"Kabuto…go grab patient #002123, he will be the next to try the procedure after I make a few adjustments." Stated Orochimaru, but then suddenly his back stiffened as drew Kusanagi and turned to the wall to see an Orange Swirl mask appear.

"You have been busy Orochimaru…don't worry I haven't come here to fight. I am merely here to offer you a proposition." Stated the man as Orochimaru didn't let his guard down, but he did arch an eyebrow in confusion.

Orochimaru knew exactly who this man before him was, he had learned years ago just before leaving the Akatsuki. This man was Obito Uchiha, and perhaps the strongest ninja currently in the world. "What kind of proposition?" asked Orochimaru. Not for a second would he lower his guard to the man he had betrayed years ago, by trying to capture Itachi Uchiha.

"Don't worry Orochimaru, I am no longer upset about you attacking Itachi, now that he is dead." Stated Obito, shocking Orochimaru completely as even he hadn't been strong enough to beat him. "The ninja of the Leaf Village are much more powerful than I could've ever anticipated. We now have common goals…you and I."

Orochimaru grinned a bit at that as Obito was a very dangerous man, and when he didn't like something he made it known in his own way. Konoha and Mizu had all suffered greatly in the past from his actions as Orochimaru had learned.

"That may be true…however, I fail to see why you need me now and why any partnership between us would benefit me." Answered Orochimaru with a grin as Obito stared at him with his single Sharingan eye.

"There are many things I have that you would interest you Orochimaru. One of them just happens to be a pair of Sharingan eyes I have that will act as a normal pair of eyes with no side affects." This shocked Orochimaru greatly and a greedy grin worked it's way to his lips.

"What do you need me to do…" stated Orochimaru as Obito phased out of the wall completely.

"I am planning on starting a war…however I need more of the Bijuu before I start it. My organization has managed to capture 4 of the Bijuu so far, but 5 remain just out of my reach. When the war starts you I will need help…specifically your village and the Edo Tensei." Stated Obito as Orochimaru began to contemplate the deal.

"What else do I get for my contributions?" he asked.

"Accesses to the First's DNA and over 100 years of data on bloodlines and jutsu that Madara Uchiha was able to gather before passing. Then you will have your revenge on the leaf and you will gain power beyond your wildest dreams." Finished Obito as Orochimaru grinned savagely at the thought of destroying Konoha.

"I believe we have a deal…" stated Orochimaru knowing that this deal would only last till both parties didn't need each other anymore, but the temptation of getting the Sharingan alone was enough to forget that.

"Here you are…you know how to contact me." Stated Obito as jar containing two Sharingan eyes warped into begin before Orochimaru.

It was then that a powerful and dangerous alliance formed between some of the strongest ninja of the era. There is no telling how much damage can be caused from this.

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>X<br>X  
>X<br>"Orochimaru has accepted…we can begin collecting the Bijuu once more. I want you to personally go after the Sanbi, I have located it south of Mizugakure." Stated Tobi as phased up from the floor behind the proxy leader of the Akatsuki, Pein.

Pein merely turned and glanced at the man as he began to walk away with his little lapdog Konan following him. "I don't want mistakes…fail and the repercussions will be great." Stated Obito as Pein merely scoffed at him.

"Worry about yourself…I will achieve my dream." Stated Pein in a very deep voice as he left the room with Konan looking concerned.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<p>

Naruto had woken just a few minutes ago on the hospital bed alongside Hinata. Over night she had latched onto his arm and she had it in a death grip, but Naruto didn't mind. He just watched her with a small smile on his lips as she mumbled in her sleep.

"Well isn't this cute?" asked Kakashi in a relaxed voice, scaring the crap out of Naruto.

"What the hell Sensei! How the hell did you even sneak up on me?" asked Naruto as Kakashi just chuckled in amusement.

"You aren't the only one who has been training over the past few years." Answered Kakashi as he looked over Naruto. He was much taller now and looked much more matured compared to his younger self. "However, that's exactly why I'm here…the Hokage has ordered you to have a mock battle against me to see how skilled you are."

Naruto looked at him for a second with a confused expression on his face, before a big grin covered his face. "Yes! This is my chance to show you just how much I've grown!" yelled Naruto, unintentionally waking Hinata.

"What? Naruto…Naruto!" Hinata initially mumbled before realizing it was actually Naruto that she was holding. She immediately grabbed him and hugged him to her chest to his surprise and embarrassment. "I wasn't sure if last night was real or not!"

Kakashi gave a small chuckle, alerting Hinata to his presence and immediately released a purple Naruto in embarrassment. "Well I'll just leave you two kids alone." Said Kakashi with amusement clearly evident in his voice as he began to leave.

"Sensei…" Naruto's voice stopped him at the door. "Thank you…if it wasn't for you helping me at Wave I wouldn't be where I am now.

Kakashi turned to Naruto, with a small smile on his lips, but Naruto couldn't tell. " No Naruto, thank you." With that Kakashi left a confused Naruto and Hinata behind in the room.

Kakashi walked down the hallway in silence before turning to his side to see Jiraiya had joined him. "You seem to have taught him much Jiraiya, I could sense that his power has grown exponentially."

"Me? Ha, that kid has been learning from so many these past three years that I kind of feel like I was just the kids bodyguard and guide!" laughed Jiraiya with a smile on his face. "But you are right, I'm sure that if the two of us fought now it would end in a either a draw or a loss for myself. The kid not only has access to his chakra, but he has full access to the Kyubi's chakra, the Void, and Sage Chakra!"

"In a battle of endurance it seems that nothing can stand up to him." Stated Kakashi in awe at how powerful Naruto just was. "It seems that you can expect anything from him like his Rinnegan, his Shadows, and now the Kyubi."

"Yeah, I can tell you this we fought all out once during the training trip and it was just before going to Kumo to learn how to control the Kyubi's chakra." Started Jiraiya.

"Kumo?" asked Kakashi, interrupting Jiraiya.

"Yes Kumo, now don't interrupt!" scolded Jiraiya. "Well I went all out on the kid, minus Sage Mode, but that didn't matter Naruto matched me blow for blow. I pity the fool the fights him when he is going all out."

"Yeah, so what do you say about getting a drink?" asked Kakashi as Jiraiya grinned.

"Sounds good kid!" laughed Jiraiya as the two left the building.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<br>"So Jounin now huh? I'm proud of you Hinata you've gotten much stronger!" cheered Naruto as he walked beside Hinata with a big smile on his face. "Now that I think of it did Sensei tell us when I was to fight him?"

"You won't be just fighting him you troublesome blonde." Muttered all too familiar lazy voice. "I'm joining up with Kakashi."

"Shikamaru? Eh what are you talking about you are way too lazy to fight unless told otherwise." Stated Naruto as he looked at the Nara. "Well you look good, and your chakra has gotten much more dense. It seems that you've been practicing those techniques I gave ya."

Shikamaru chuckled as he extended his hand out to the blonde only for Naruto to grab his hand and pull him into a friendly hug. "So how's the team been? You guys save any princesses yet?"

"One or two…" replied Shikamaru as Naruto laughed. "Chouji and Ino have gotten much stronger since you left. Chouji is has control over his calories beyond what any other Akimichi has ever achieved and Ino has been learning a lot from Lady Tsunade. I'd ask them to help fight you, but they are busy.

"Speaking of that? When am I fighting then?" asked Naruto as Shikamaru sighed.

"I was hoping that it would get done with this week so I could relax this weekend, but they decided to have the battle Saturday." Stated Shikamaru in annoyance as Naruto just grinned.

"That means I can participate too!" Hinata chirped in too Naruto's surprise.

"What? But you can't fight me this weekend!" exclaimed Naruto as Hinata glared at him.

"What's that supposed to mean!" she accused as Naruto shrunk from her glare. "You don't think I can fight is that it?"

"No no no! That's not what I meant at all! I just thought that you would rather of rested seeing as you were hit with Itachi's attack. I know how bad it is and I don't want you hurt." Responded Naruto quickly in defense as Hinata crossed her arms and looked away.

"I'm sorry Hinata! I know your strong…look ill make it up to you!" exclaimed Naruto, but Hinata still looked away. "I'll buy you anything you want? Hmm…how about a cinnamon roll…two….three?"

Hinata still had her arms crossed and was facing away from Naruto. However, if one were to get a look at her face then they would see that she sported a chesire grin.

"Each day you are not away from a village you will be at my house at 8 in the morning to take me out to breakfast…where you will pay!" she declared without looking at him.

"What? B-but I have no money!" complained Naruto as Hinata turned around with a devious smirk.

"Well you did say anything." She whispered into his ear, making his eyes go wide.

"Yeah…I did guess I can't back out now." Naruto pouted as Hinata leaned into his ear with a smirk on her face.

"Don't worry Naru-kun…I'll make it worth the trouble." She whispered seductively into his ear as she pinched his butt. Naruto's mouth dropped and he squeeked at that and his face turned bright red as he sputtered at a laughing Hinata. "Well my father wanted to see me later today, I'll see you later Naru-kun!"

With a wink Hinata was off leaving behind a confused and irritated Shikamaru and a sputtering and red-faced Naruto. "What happened to my sweet and innocent Hinata?" asked Naruto.

"Eh that's what happens when Anko teaches students…" muttered Shikamaru as Naruto glanced at him and sighed.

"Well I'm glad my Hinata has finally gotten her self confidence up! So how were the Jounin Exams? Tsunade sent me a letter saying that I was promoted after I sparred with Jiraiya once so I'm kinda wondering how they were." Asked Naruto, but Shikamaru just ignored him.

"Are you listening to me?" asked Naruto as Shikamaru just sighed.

"It's too troublesome to talk about…I'm going home to sleep." Stated Shikamaru as he just left.

"What the hell man! Don't leave me hangin like this!" yelled Naruto, but Shikamaru just ignored him and left. "What am I going to do now? Guess I'll just go train…"

With that Naruto trudged away ready to get back into the routine he hadn't done since Jiraiya and him had started their journey back to the leaf.

Naruto had been training for the past three hours now doing nothing but physical exercises that would make Lee and Gai shout out about the wonders of youth. He had ditched his cape and two hours ago and was dodging the fierce attacks of 5 of his shadow clones. Unbeknownst to him he was being spied on, by not your average stalker.

No this stalker had years of experience in the art of stalking, one could even say that this person had perfected the art years ago. They were in their element as they silently crept up to the blondes making sure that none were able to get a good at the person.

Finally when they had reached attack range the person pounced with a quickness faster than the normal eye was accustomed to. Before Naruto even knew what had happened his three shadow clones had been destroyed by a lavender blur before he suddenly was pinned to the ground with a smirking Hinata straddling him.

"H-hinata?" stuttered out a red faced Naruto as he desperately tried to keep his cool as Hinata just smirked at him.

"Yes Naruto-kun?" she whispered as she leaned forward and caught him with a kiss. Naruto hesitated for a second before he began to kiss back with vigor as the two battled for dominance in situation…at least before.

"That's my girl!" yelled out a very loud obnoxious femine voice belonging to the Snake Mistress Anko.

"Anko-Sensei!" yelled Hinata as she jumped off Naruto with an obvious blush covering her face. Naruto seemed to be torn from anger and embarrassment at Anko being here.

Anger at being interrupted from his time with this new bolder Hinata and embarrassment at someone witnessing what they had been doing. Luckily for him though embarrassment was the one he was most feeling.

"How long have you been here?" asked Naruto hesitantly as Anko smirked very mischievously.

"Oh I've been here a few minutes now. I just thought I should interrupt since I saw a group of your friends on their way here right now and against my better judgement I didn't want want to embarrass my cute little student!" laughed Anko as Hinata blushed and Naruto chuckled.

"I will agree with you she is pretty cute, but she has changed quite a bit! However, I love her all the same and would like to thank you for helping her!" stated Naruto as he extended his hand out to Anko.

"Don't get touchy with me brat!" snapped Anko as Naruto quickly pulled his hand back lest she bite it off. "I only interrupted to save my student the embarrassment of having her cousin try and kill you. With that I have to get going, remember brat training tomorrow at 12!"

"Bye Sensei!" said Hinata with a wave a Anko left the clearing.

"What did she teach you?" asked Naruto cautiously as Hinata just smiled at him.

"You know a little of this and that! Now where were we?" she asked with a smirk as she walked over to a sweating Naruto.

"I don't think this is the right time Hinata." Naruto stated seriously as she pouted in annoyance. "But maybe tonight after dinner you can come over to my apartment." Naruto added on as Hinata brightened up and hugged him.

"Works for me! I've missed you so much these past few years and I just want to spend my time with you." She mumbled into his chest as Naruto held her closely.

"What do you think your doing Naruto?" came a very familiar voice from behind Naruto causing him to freeze a bit.

"I haven't put my shirt back on have I?" Naruto asked himself.

"No you haven't…" answered the voice in affirmination.

"Well better get this over with…" stated Naruto as he turned to face the newcomers. "It's been awhile guys!"

Before him was Team 10 in all their glory. Neji stood at the front scowling with a grinning Lee and smirking Tenten flanking him. "Yosh! It's been a long time Naruto! I see the Flames of Youth have burned brightly within you!

"It's good to see you Naruto and you too Hinata. However, if I knew what you two were doing I would've made Neji give you a little more time." Suggested Tenten with a giggle as Neji glared at her.

"It's good to see you guys too! Man you all look a lot stronger than the last time I saw you…except you Neji…you look about the same with that glare on your face." Teased Naruto as Neji just sighed.

"I'm just looking out for my cousin Naruto, it wouldn't do you two any good for people to see you together like this." He stated as Naruto laughed as Hinata blushed.

"I'm not the one you should be concerned about." Laughed Naruto as he put his arm around Hinata and pulled him into his chest.

"That may be so, but if word reached our elders you could have a lot of problems on your hands. I'd rather you two not do anything, but if you do at least do it privately." Conceded Neji as Naruto and Hinata glanced at each other. "That is all I wanted to say, were leaving we have a spar with Gai-Sensei that we have to get to."

"Seeya you two!" shouted Tenten as Team 10 left the field.

"I'm tired of being interrupted…" stated Hinata as Naruto chuckled.

"Don't worry I doubt we will run into anyone later tonight. Now that I think about it, I have yet to be home since I got back! I have to go clean my place and get ready!" shouted Naruto as he jumped off into the trees leaving Hinata behind.

"Did he just leave with out saying good bye?" she asked herself, but Naruto jumped back into the clearing quickly and picking his cloak up and then picking up Hinata and jumping back into the trees.

"What are you doing Naruto!" shouted Hinata as Naruto just smirked.

"Well I just realized that I don't have to start getting ready for a couple of hours so I came back for you!" he said with a large grin on his face as Hinata reached up and kissed his cheek.

"Good! Now get moving!" she ordered as Naruto sped off back to the village with a big smile on his face.

X  
>X<br>X

X  
>Well sorry if you were expecting a big chapter this time, but I didn't feel like making this too serious of a chapter. Just nothing more than Naruto and Hinata fluff, but don't you worry for next chapter will have the big fight between Naruto and various ninja in the leaf and perhaps a smaller Kazekage Rescue Arc than in the Anime.<p>

Now don't forget to check out my other stories for your enjoyment, cause I promise they will be awesome! A matter of fact Meet the Monster is only 2 reviews away from 200! However, expect a story that is M-rated with lots of blood and gore.

Don't forget to add me on Xbox so that we can play Halo-4 lol.

Last, this summer is going to be awesome! I'm being sent to Thailand by the Army to help with civil service projects across the country ranging from helping villages that are run down to learning everything I can about the country! Then afterwards I will be going to Airborne School to become a part of the long standing Tradition of an Airborne Soldier!


	18. The Evaluation

Well here is the 18th chapter for The Fox's Shadow! I've finally reached the 500 review mark for my story and I couldn't be happier! Thank you all so much for the support that you all gave me! It's been over a year since I started this story and I can't help but believe I'm only here because of you!

So thank you very much! I just wish that I could always feel motivated to write stories and have the time to do so. There are so many stories out there that I just wish I could write especially when I read a new magna and come to love the characters!

I have been especially busy this past month with school starting again and doing boxing this semester. Really fun sport and I've had one fight so far that resulted in a split decision loss, you should see the other guy though lol. There is also a whole lot of paper work I had to do for CULP and ROTC so don't expect updates to come too quickly, but I will try my best.

Add me on XBOX ICHeartless, I play HALO 4 and Aliens Colonial Marines…fun game by the way.

Also I'm looking for someone to make a cover art for my story...I'd do it myself but frankly I'm an horrible artist! :(

**The Evaluation**

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>X<br>X  
>X<br>"Where is that Brat…he is over an hour late!" growled out Tsunade Senju as she paced back and forth through the training ground. "I swear to god that if he inherited your sense of punctuality Kakashi, I will demote you to a gennin!"

"Hey! I'm here on time aren't I?" asked Kakashi in indignation as Tsunade just sighed.

"I'm going to kill that brat! HA!" she screamed as she smashed a tree to smashes in anger.

"Now don't worry Tsunade…I'm sure Naruto will be here soon. He isn't one to keep people waiting for a fight." Laughed out Hiruzen Sarutobi. He had joined this group to observe the blonde that he saw as his grandson.

"Yo! Sorry I'm late, got lost on the road of life if you know what I mean!" and with that statement Naruto had landed in the clearing with all present parties glaring at him with some form of irritation. "Now how are we going to do this?"

"Hmph…if anything you should be demoted for making me wait. However, I won't be able to see you get smashed by everyone else." Stated Tsunade as Kakashi, Hinata, Shikamaru, and an unknown ANBU all stood up and made their way to Naruto.

"An ANBU? You're serious about this aren't you Tsunade?" asked Naruto jokingly as he looked at the annoyed faces on everyone, but Kakashi. He chuckled in mirth as he began to do some light stretching as Tsunade rambled out the plan.

"The goal of this exercise is to test Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze on his skills that he has acquired over his training trip with the Toad Sage Jiraiya. His goal is to evade all four fighters until the sun goes down or subdue all four fighters in the given amount of time." Tsunade read off a paper as Naruto continued his stretching exercises seemingly oblivious to what Tsunade had just said. "Are you listening to me brat?"

"Of course I am!" came a voice from behind the group surprising all of them as another Naruto was there with a smile on his face. "Since I'm just a shadow I don't really need to limber up like my real body is doing now."

"When did you make the shadow Naruto?" asked Kakashi as he eyed the shadow critically. Those shadows of his were perhaps the largest advantage the kid had in the battle as they acted as virtually indestructible clones of Naruto that were able to utilize any jutsu that the original used. If he had created them earlier there was no telling what awaited them in the coming battle.

Naruto just smiled mischievously at his sensei, causing chills to go up Kakashi's back as if he was about to be attacked. "That would be telling Sensei!" laughed Naruto as the shadow sunk into the ground and flew towards the forest surrounding the clearing.

With that last statement the senses of everyone in clearing had been escalated in an attempt to locate any more of the shadows hiding in the tree's. However, even with Hinata's Byakugan their attempts proved to be ineffective as they were unable to locate anything abnormal.

"How cute…by just not giving an answer I've already delivered my first blow." Laughed Naruto as he had just finished stretching and was now walking out to the center of the clearing. With it being the middle of Autumn the leaves had began to change color and fall from the trees. A wind picked up and swept a group over to circle the blonde in an impressive display of color and beauty. "Just to let you know…I'm not going to go easy on any of you."

"That's fine by us…cause none of us are planning on going easy on you Naruto." Hinata answered back with a smirk as Naruto smiled at the fact that his girlfriend had truly gotten more confident. She stood there tall and proud as she stared down the love of her life and Naruto could never be more proud than he was now.

However, that would all have to wait as he had a mission to do and it was to prove that he was deserving of the respect that he had been receiving. It was time to show his friends that he had done what he had promised them those three years ago when he said he would get strong enough to protect them all.

"So let's get this started! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" yelled Naruto as twenty clones came into existence and charged the ninja gathered against him. The group gathered against him wasted no time in getting to action as the twenty clones were easily taken out by the ANBU, Hinata, and Kakashi as Shikamaru took a sideline role to guide the battle.

They had just finished the clones to discover that Naruto had fled the clearing rather than face them all head on. However, unknown to them Naruto wasn't planning on having them come to him as he was already looking for a way to take Shikamaru out of the battle early.

"Hinata can you find him?" asked Kakashi as the group formed a pyramid around Shikamaru.

"One sec…he's right above us!" yelled Hinata just in time as the group all jumped away from each other just to dodge an exploding air bullet. Immediately all but Shikamaru were attacked by a multitude of clones as they tried to herd the heavy hitters away.

"You know what the funny thing is Shikamaru?" asked Naruto as he jumped down in front of the shadow user. "You have always been acclaimed for your mind, and accosted for your lack of work ethic. However, seeing you now I know that it was all just a ploy...out of everyone in the village you are the one of the few who can perhaps defeat me one on one if given the right information."

Shikamaru said nothing and just slid into a defensive stance as Naruto smirked at the defiance Shikamaru was showing. "This is going to be fun." And with that Naruto launched himself at Shikamaru with his warp blade activated, but the Nara was ready for such a move from Naruto.

Knowing that Naruto's control of the shadows was equal if not greater than his. He ducked under the first swing and with speed, faster than any had seen him use before, he launched a flurry of attacks with a kunai that pushed Naruto back.

Neither tried to block the others attack as they were totally on the offensive and only dodged each other's attacks to the barest minimum. It was dance of attrition as the first to tire would be the loser…unfortunately no matter how much he had trained Shikamaru would never come close enough to surpass Naruto in that regard so he needed to break the deadlock.

Naruto however, made the first move as he fired off a ball of air at Shikamaru that the Nara just rolled out of the way of the attack. Shikamaru had lost sight of Naruto for no more than a split second, but it was more than enough for Naruto to disappear from the battle.

"Where are you Naruto?" questioned Shikamaru as he went through a few handsigns, but nothing happened when he did the last handsign.

Naruto attacked right when he expected him to attack. Naruto blinked right into existence behind Shikamaru with his blade poised to bisect the Leaf's current genius. However to Naruto's surprise the shadow around Shikamaru shot up and pierced the stomach of Naruto, but that Naruto burst into a cloud of smoke.

"Interesting…" stated Naruto as he blinked 15 meters away from Shikamaru as the Nara just smirked. "I wasn't expecting any of you to be able to solidify your attacks in such a way to make an automatic defense."

'It's more than just an automatic defense my friend." Stated Shikamaru as the shadows around him began to come to life and rise from the ground. They took the form of a menacing stick figure with clawed hands and blank face that stared at Naruto with lifeless eyes. "This here is the shadow puppet…able to think independently of me. I got the idea from Gaara and from the need to protect myself from someone who can attack me at any given angle.

"Impressive…" stated Naruto as he crouched down low and darted towards Shikamaru much faster than before. The shadow puppet wasted no time and darted towards Naruto extending it's blade covered appendage at Naruto with Shikamaru following closely behind him.

Naruto slipped under the thrust from the puppet, but was unprepared for another spike to shoot form it's body and cut him across the arm. The wound wasn't deep, but it was enough for him to abandon his straight attack and jump away, but Shikamaru wasn't letting him escape as the puppet shot towards him on the attack.

Naruto rolled away from the puppet's arm as it stabbed them into the ground and charged at Shikamaru again, more wary of the puppet this time as he dodged additional spikes. However, Shikamaru was full of surprises as a second puppet shot up and was able to block his warp blade. Before Naruto could even register that his attack had been blocked he was hit in the gut with a powerful uppercut and sent flying towards the first puppet.

Rather than attempt a dodge this time and risk the puppet doing something entirely new, Naruto blinked away from the Shikamaru and his two puppets that were hunched over him protectively. "That's a very useful jutsu Shikamaru. With it I'm sure the Nara could be renown in direct combat." Stated Naruto with a grin as he close his eyes.

"It seems you are getting serious Naruto." Whispered Shikamaru as he slid into a stance. However, before Naruto could do any more a Naruto shadow was shot out between them and landed with a skid before Naruto.

"Damn…I was hoping to have more time." Thought Naruto as Hinata landed in the clearing looking a little pissed.

"I was under the impression that you wouldn't be holding back on me Naruto." She stated as Naruto began to sweat and shiver at the look she was giving him.

"Um…I uh…"

"I believe he was just trying to get a feel for each of us so that he can handle us properly Hinata." Suggested Shikamaru as Naruto sighed in relief.

"Yeah! That's exactly what I was doing…I think?" he muttered at the end too lightly for Hinata to hear. Luckily for Naruto the answer seemed to calm Hinata down a little as Kakashi and the ANBU had joined the group once more.

"I was honestly expecting more Naruto." Stated Kakashi as Naruto just smirked.

"I haven't even began yet Sensei…get ready to witness strength not seen in over a millennium." Stated Naruto as he crouched down and began to channel energy throughout his body. His eyes began to glow a dark purple as the energy began to circle around his body like a dark black haze.

Then it was suddenly over as Naruto burst apart in a dark mist and before anyone could even react the ANBU had been nailed by an uppercut to the chin that sent him flying back. Then Naruto was gone again in another haze and this time it was Shikamaru who could do nothing as his puppets were unable to locate Naruto who blinked right behind him and nailed him in the back of the neck, knocking him out immediately.

Naruto quickly grabbed Shikamaru and disappeared with the shadow user to take him to safety. Kakashi quickly revealed his Sharingan and went back to back with Hinata as the two looked everywhere for where Naruto would appear again.

"He's fast…maybe even faster than his father." Stated Kakashi. "We have to predict where he will appear again, but it's difficult cause he doesn't have to rely on seals to teleport."

"I have a plan." Stated Hinata as she wheeled about and shot a pressurized column of vacuum out her hand to sky above her. Her gamble paid off as Naruto reappeared right there with a surprised look on his face as he was hit directly by the attack. Their small victory shattered though when he burst in a column of black mist.

Kakashi knowing Naruto for years was already ready for the jinchuriki and launched a lion made of electricity out of his palms that raced around them waiting for Naruto to reappear.

"So what is this plan of yours?" Asked Kakashi as he surveyed the battlefield. "Knowing him he is going to separate us again with a powerful jutsu, but then again he wants to prove his skills."

"We just need to get a hold of him when he attacks us. If we can do that then he won't be able to get away." Stated Hinata as Naruto finally made his move. He blinked between the two and gave both a kick to the backs to separate them slightly, but Hinata was ready.

Hinata bent forwards and twisted her body and attempted to grab Naruto's ankle. Naruto seeing what she was trying to do, put more pressure on Kakashi's back and kicked off it and flipped over Hinata. "Stop running Naruto…this is my chance to show you how far I've gone!" challenged Hinata as she went on the offensive against the blonde, who refrained from blinking away.

Truly a testament of skill and power, Naruto weaved through the ferocious assault by his Hyuga girlfriend and responded only with counterattacks that Hinata was able to dodge herself. Naruto finally capitalized on an over extended palm strike and grabbed Hinata's arm, but was surprised when it promptly turned to water and solidify not into ice, but a heavy water like substance.

"A water clone?" asked Naruto as he tried to get away from the girl. But tried as hard as he might the clone stuck on and was able to grab Naruto's free hand preventing him from using handseals.

"Not exactly Naruto." Stated another Hinata that appeared on a pond not too far away from Naruto and the clone. "I've spent the last three years learning everything there is in medical and water jutsu and this is the culmination of that technique. Now Kakashi!" Kakashi finally reentered the battle, having stayed out to analyze Naruto and began to go through many seals and Hinata did the same.

"Water Stlye: Great Sea Serpent!" called out Hinata as the water from the pond rose up to form a massive serpent that twisted around Hinata making Naruto gulp in fear as it opened its mouth to reveal thousands of sharpened ice teeth. The presence of this serpent was the only thing scaring him though. Kakashi had finished his jutsu and now a blue current of electricity was running through the serpent giving it the appearance of having grown electric fur.

Quickly Naruto turned his attention back to the clone that was holding him. The Hinata gave him a coy smirk and laughed as he struggled harder to get away, but half the clone had sank into the dirt and was rooted in the ground.

"Why can't I do anything!" yelled Naruto as he kept pulling and trying to blink away.

"The original has learned quite a bit about you and you're past missions Naruto. Sorry, but she did promise that she wouldn't hold back." Stated the clone of Hinata with a smirk as Naruto looked at the rushing Serpent and calmly closed them as he got a small smirk on his face.

"I honestly didn't expect to have to bring out the Rinnegan, but that's what I get for underestimating her." Naruto chuckled as his eyes opened the Rinnegan was proudly displayed for the world to see.

The clone that held onto Naruto felt it's chakra get sucked right out of its body enough so that Naruto burst from the clone and faced the collaboration jutsu head on. "Shinra Tensai!"

Just as the dragon was about to smash into Naruto, a great force slammed into the dragon causing it to collapse in on itself as the force expanded outwards. Smirking in triumph Naruto barely noticed the numerous branches that shot from the ground and tried to restrain him.

Acting quickly he blinked away from the battlefield and was surprised to see that Hinata was already attacking him once more. 'She has to have found a way to locate me at all times.' Thought Naruto as he ducked under a palm strike and attempted to kick out her leg from underneath her.

He just hopped over him just as Kakashi appeared with a Chidori in his hands attempting to stab the distracted blonde. "Too slow sensei!" stated Naruto as he lashed his hand out and repelled the attack with his Rinnegan.

However as Kakashi was flying backwards he was able to wrap a chain around Naruto's body causing the blonde to fly with him towards an awaiting ANBU. 'Not the tree guy again!' thought Naruto as three branches shot from the ground and wrapped around his body while simultaneously suppressing his chakra.

"I wonder if this will be enough?" asked Kakashi as he landed by the ANBU, but Naruto just smirked in response.

"It may have been enough…if I was the real me." Stated Naruto as he burst into smoke. Suddenly the ground burst between the two elite ninja as Naruto jumped up and landed two powerful blows to both of their chins sending them flying back.

However Naruto couldn't rest as a shadow shot out of the treeline hurtling towards him faster than he could react. It wrapped around his waste and threw him into the ground just as Hinata started her attack.

Naruto rolled out of the way and back onto his feet as Hinata began to close his chakra points with Shikamaru supporting her the whole time. Naruto summoned three clones that dashed off into the woods to take care of Shikamaru as he dealt with Hinata himself.

"You really have grown Hinata." He stated with a smile as he weaved through her attacks as she did the same to him. "I wouldn't be surprised if you are the strongest Hyuga in the village now."

"Maybe, but I haven't really cared for that really. I got strong for the sole purpose of being able to fight beside you and prove to you that you can depend upon me." Answered Hinata as Naruto chuckled a bit as he slipped under a palm strike to his chin.

"I thought your dream was to unite the Hyuga Clan and abolish the Curse Seal?" questioned Naruto as Hinata just smiled at him. It was then that she struck as Naruto stepped just a little too far forward. Hinata wrapped her leg around his causing him to lose his balance as she slammed her arms into his side and slammed him to the ground.

Not losing her momentum Hinata grabbed Naruto's arm and twisted it around his back and leaned up closely to his ear. "Oh you see it is, and that's why my goal is to be as strong as you. Who would dare oppose me if I can defeat the future Hokage?" she whispered as Naruto laughed a bit in the dirt.

"I guess that makes sense….but you made a huge mistake." Stated Naruto as he burst into the cloud of smoke. "

"He wasn't the real Naruto!" called out Naruto from the treeline as Hinata looked up at him and was surprised to see an unconscious Shikamaru being held up by Naruto. "He is out of chakra…surprised you didn't see him."

"Damn…I was positive that I was fighting the real you." Stated Hinata. "Where is Kakashi and Tenzou?"

"So his name is Tenzou…well I have no idea what happened to the two of them. Maybe I hit them harder than I believed." Suggested Naruto just as two branches shot out of the earth in an attempt to capture him.

"You should know that this won't work! Shinra Tensai!" yelled Naruto as the two branches were completely shattered by the force of Naruto's attack. It was then that Kakashi struck with a large fireball.

Naruto merely blinked away from the fireball to reappear behind an exhausted Tenzou, who had been launching Mokuten attacks like crazy for the past hour. Tenzou turned as quickly as he could, but Naruto was much faster and landed a solid chop to the back of Tenzou's neck, knocking him out for the rest of the battle.

"And then there were two." Stated Naruto as he turned towards Hinata and Kakashi with a gleam in his eyes. He suddenly blinked away to reappear right between the two to engage them in taijutsu. "I'm done pulling my punches."

With that Naruto launched into his assault with renewed vigor as he quickly attacked and blinked away just before being attacked while summoning clones to strike at Kakashi and Hinata's weakpoints.

Hinata and Kakashi were at a lost for what to do as neither of them could follow any of Naruto's movements. The black haze left behind after Naruto blinked left them blind and when they could attack the blonde it turned out to be nothing more than a clone. It wasn't long before they were separated once more and unable to do anything against the monster that was arrayed against them.

Hinata was the first to be taken out as the real Naruto was able to land a solid blow to her stomach as three of his clones were able to come up from behind and pin her to the ground as one of them began to drain her chakra using the Rinnegan.

"Just you and me Sensei!" stated Naruto as he began to run through a jutsu as three clones kept Kakashi from escaping. "Void Prism!" yelled Naruto as he finished the jutsu.

Kakashi could do little as six black pillars shot from the ground around him met just above his head. Kakashi recognizing the peril he was in quickly tried to dash out of the area of the six pillars, but one of the clones had latched onto his legs while another had grabbed at his hand forcing him to be unable to use jutsu.

"Seal!" called out Naruto as the pillars began to expand towards eachother and cut Kakashi off from the world. Naruto simply chuckled as he watched Kakashi try and claw his way out of the prism before it was sealed off completely.

"How did you like that granny?" asked Naruto out loud as he dispelled all the clones that had restrained all the enemies on the battlefield.

"Impressive Naruto…do you think you'd be able to handle me in a fight though?" asked Tsunade as Naruto just smirked in reply. "Easy there brat I was just joking around. Why don't you let Kakashi go and get everyone else back up on their feet."

"Got ya Granny!" said Naruto with a smile as the prism holding Kakashi began to break apart and revealed Kakashi looking a little flustered but apparently fine. He then walked over to an unconscious Hinata and picked her up bridal style. "So what do you think?"

"Hmph…I know I'm going to regret this by the power vested in me I announce you as a Jounin of the Hidden Leaf. Come to the tower tomorrow so I can officially register you Naruto." Tsunade stated as she started to heal the sleeping Hinata.

"So when do you think she will wake up?" asked Naruto as Tsunade just gave a shrug as she went over to the tied up Shikamaru.

"Probably within the next two hours." She stated as she began to heal Shikamaru.

"Good! So what do you think Sensei?" asked Naruto as Kakashi gave him an eye smile and thumbs up.

"Your dad would be proud of you Naruto and I know I am too! You've surpassed my expectations and have become an excellent shinobi. I still remember the day you came to me at Wave and told me that you wanted to get stronger." Stated Kakashi as Naruto blushed and smiled at the praise.

"Do you really think my dad would be proud of me Sensei?" asked Naruto timidly.

"I know so…now why don't you go do something with your girlfriend. I'm sure she will wake up soon enough." Chuckled Kakashi as he shunshined away from the battlefield.

"What about you Old Man?" asked Naruto as he spied the Third Hokage talking to Tsunade.

"I think if I had still been Hokage I'd be begging for you take the hat from me." Stated the Third with a small laugh as Naruto grew a depressed cloud above his head and looked away.

"Damn you old man…if you had just held onto that title for three more years." Muttered Naruto as the third just chuckled in amusement. "Well doesn't matter! I just have to wait for the granny to retire and then that hat will be mine! Seeya!"

And with that Naruto blinked away from the observers and weakened fighters with Hinata in his arms.

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<p>

"What do you have to show me Tobi? Unless it is a Sharingan, I could care less about it." Stated Orochimaru as he followed the masked leader of the Akatsuki in one of the many tunnels of their hideout.

"Oh but you will interested in this Orochimaru…someone of your tastes will be quite fascinated by what is contained in this lab." Stated Tobi as he opened a door and turned on the lights to reveal something that Orochimaru had never seen before.

"What…what is this?" asked Orochimaru as he walked up to a giant tube and examined what lay before him.

"It is perfection…if harnessed properly. I will leave you here to conduct your work…you have all the resources that you will require for this project. Don't fail me though Orochimaru." Stated Tobi as he backed out of the room and left Orochimaru to his devices. 'If he succeeds there will be nothing that can stand against me.'

X  
>X<br>X  
>X<br>And the plot thickens! What could Orochimaru possibly have access to that can make Tobi that much more confident in himself? Seriously though I would like to hear what you think it is lol

I'm sorry this chapter took sooooo long for me to get out. I've been so busy lately that I can barely find time to do anything now adays but school and ROTC stuff. Hopefully I can get another chapter out in the next few weeks before I go to Thailand!

So I'm putting up a poll to settle an argument between my one friend and I about what the village truly knew about Naruto after the fox had been sealed into him. He believes that they knew from the beginning that he was the 4th Hokage's Son, due to the resemblance of him and the 4th and his mothers name being Uzumaki. While I believe the village had no clue from the beginning barring a select few who were close to the 4th Hokage. Help me out by answering my poll!


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